3．Good to Write Poorly at the Beginning

Once Chekhov met a young writer．The moment he sawChekhov，the writer said，in great distress，that when he beganwriting，he could not write well no matter how hard he tried．Hisstyle of writing often went against the expression of his ideas，and he was in deep agony for his clumsiness and his situation．On hearing it，Chekhov，instead of giving slightest comfort，saidsurprisingly，What are you talking about？It is good to writepoorly at the beginning．”

The young writer was astounded after hearing that，and wasat a loss what to do．Chekhov continued，“Of course it's good．You see，if a new writer could write fluently overnight， then hewas over，and he would have no great future in writing．”

3．开头写得差是好事

有一次，契诃夫遇到一个青年作家，这个作家一看到契诃夫，便苦恼地说，自己开始写作时，无论如何也写不好，文笔和思想的表达常常相悖，他深为自己的笨拙与自己的处境感到痛苦。契诃夫听后，非但没有给予丝毫的安慰，反而吃惊地说：“您都说了些什么呀！开头写得差，这是好事么！”

青年作家听后，大为惊讶，不知该如何是好。契诃夫接着说：“当然是好事了。您得明白，如果初拿笔的作家一下子就写得顺顺当当，那么他就完了，他在写作上是没有什么前途的。”