i, vic smyth, Read FAQ 'Why does vic smyth use all lowercase letters?' [X] recently looked at the original hand-written version of YMOMTetragram for The Young Man and the Old Man [X]. It actually started with chapter 3. i had written many versions of chapters 1 and 2 as more of a journaling exercise. Once i started writing chapter 3 i saw that it was turning into more than a journaling exercise -- a full-blown short story whose words flowed effortlessly*. Once the short story was finished and i typed the hand-written version into a manuscript, i added one of my versions of chapters 1 and 2 to the beginning.

i might add that the final version is almost identical to the hand written and typed versions -- only a few lines were modified or omitted (plus one line that snuck in there).

* Regarding "words flowed effortlessly": i should add that words never flowed as effortlessly as it did in writing YMOM; never before, never since. i hesitate to claim that the work was channeled as i did not hear a voice inside my head dictating the words. Semi-channeled? That's as bold a claim as i venture to make.