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Eric Idle, on John Cleese's Writing Process
Merlin Mann | Jan 1 2009
Eric Idle, on John Cleese’s Approach to Writing John Cleese sweated every word — to the point of exhausting collaborators like Eric Idle. In other places, I’ve heard Cleese himself talk about his work ethic within the Pythons, mentioning how Graham Chapman might slip out early to start drinking, while Cleese would stick around and revise a sketch for another half-hour or longer. Over time, he felt the extra effort was what made the difference in the enduring appeal of his material. It also helps explain why a classic like the Cheese Shop still delights a word nerd like me. Specificity. [Note: This post originally appeared on our daughter site, “43 Folders Clips,” and we liked it enough to republish it here.] POSTED IN:
About Merlin Bio Merlin Mann is an independent writer, speaker, and broadcaster. He’s best known for being the guy who created the website you’re reading right now. He lives in San Francisco, does lots of public speaking, and helps make cool things like You Look Nice Today, Back to Work, and Kung Fu Grippe. Also? He’s writing this book, he lives with this face, he suffers from this hair, he answers these questions, and he’s had this life. So far. Merlin’s favorite thing he’s written in the past few years is an essay entitled, “Cranking.”
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