Writing what I want to say about anything comes easy. Bang it out and there it is. But then comes the hard editing, which usually involves three passes.
I begin by simplifying words and cleaning up sentences, and sometimes re-phrasing them so they read better, by which I mean sharper. Then I go back and make each and every passage sound a little more casual and conversational — you don’t want to sound too constipated. Then you go back a fourth time and give each sentence a final spritz.
It helps to get up and walk outside or hit the kitchen or play with the cats, and then you come back with a clean head. You have to re-read and ask yourself “what’s wrong with this? What sentences seem lumpy or problematic or labored?”
After the fourth pass I’m usually good with it, and then I’ll hit “publish.”
And then comes the occasional fifth edit, which is sometimes prompted by reader complaints and corrections, and sometimes by my own delayed judgment.