Nope, it’s not a joke. It’s a quote I found from Red Smith who was one of America’s most widely read sports columnists. He was also famous for his quip about writing, “All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.”

[T]he crafts of writing and carpentry are deceptively simple. The carpenter has to begin with a plan; the writer must begin with a thought. There must be at least the germ of an idea. Before the first board is nailed to the second board, or the first word connected to the second word, there has to be some clear notion of where we expect to be when we have finished nailing or writing.

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