composing, editing, compiling, selecting
撰 centers on carefully putting things together: selecting items for a collection, then composing, editing, or compiling them into a finished work.
撰 combines 扌 (hand) with 巽, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of selecting or arranging. The exact historical development of 巽 in this character is uncertain.
The hand 扌 beside 巽 suggests a hand carefully picking and arranging items. Picture a hand selecting the best pieces and compiling them into a neat stack.
For サン, imagine the hand selecting pieces under the sun: sun -> サン, and the sunlight helps you see which pieces to choose for your compilation.
careless; sloppy; faulty
anthology (of poetry, etc.); compilation; collection; selection
compilation for the emperor; emperor's literary production
editing; compiling
poems collected at the behest of the Emperor (from 905 to 1439); Imperial collection of poetry
imperially commissioned poetry anthology
government compilation
to write (prose, etc.)
writing (a book); compiling; editing
writing (an epitaph, foreword, etc.); composition; epitaph; inscription
author; compiler; editor
writing (a book)
compiling and presenting poems, texts, etc. to the emperor
compiling; editing; writing
Shinsen Shouji Roku (Newly Compiled Record of Clan Names; 815 CE)
careless (slipshod) and with many omissions