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[welkins2139]

you had to pump the brake before they catch.

That had acquried the status of instinct.

Which the plots of novels were "roughed in".

Would you explain the bold text?

Thank you

[CP]

1. "you had to pump the brake before they catch" should probably be, "You have to pump the brakes before they catch." The brakes, or the brake pedal, is what stops the car. When the brake fluid is low, or when there's a hole in the brake lines, you have to press the brake pedal several times -- pump it -- before the brakes stop the car. Just take it in and get it fixed before you hurt yourself.

2. Instinctive behavior is behavior of lower animals. They react automatically to stimuli; we humans don't believe they think, or at least, not much. If something becomes automatic to a person, it starts to look like instinct.

3. When you write anything, you might start with a "rough draft," then revise it several times until it is finished. So you could say that you roughed in the plot of a story, meaning you wrote a rough draft to get in the major plot points, before rewriting and filling in the details.

Lots of writers, by the way, say that good writing isn't written, it's rewritten. Look how polished a Kurt Vonnegut novel is, for just one example.
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[welkins2139]

Once again, Thank you very much CP!