One cannot distill what has not yet fermented. Just as in the process of making fine spirits, the story must first barm, bubble and froth. The outgassing of ideas in the beginning is necessary for a story's success.

Distillation extracts, purifies and condenses the essential goodness out of any beverage of leisure. Start with something good bad or in between and add some heat and pressure. For the storyteller, what better source of heat and pressure is there than an approaching deadline?