Editor in Chief: How Obama Fine-tunes His Speeches

GalleyCat brought my attention to this terrific photograph by Pete Souza on Newsweek’s Tumblr. It’s a photograph of President Obama editing his Inaugural Address.

I love the way the President’s hand is positioned on the page, as if he’s moving text around. I think this is a really fascinating glimpse into the way his mind works.

I also love the copious but clear handwriting all over the page (his–or the work of his writer?)

This photo serves as a terrific visual reminder of how a piece of writing comes together. A good revision requires you to take the paragraphs and sentences apart and put the puzzle pieces back together, which is what appears to be happening here.