Don't get me wrong. I have a lot of respect for those that do Japanese martial arts, and I practiced Aikido for 16 years, and Iaido for three, so this is just me saying as I've got older I've become a bit more cussed in outlook.
Anyway, that's not the point of this post.
I was talking to my partner about having changed from shooting my bow from right-hand to left-hand, and the difficulty I had shooting the Hereford at this year's Whiteleaf competition, which the above picture was taken at.
Last year I scored 482 points, this year 336. That looks, because it is, a drastic difference. But, when I checked my score sheets the real difference lay in the scores at 80 yards. My results for the 60 and 50 yard distances were almost identical: three points in it (175 last year versus 172 this).
Then Susan said, short-term pain for long-term gain.
And that is true of writing stories too. Transitioning from a writer with their first novel to one who has a second out, and soon a third novel is a learning process. And part of that learning process is practice. And as one practices one learns new ways of doing things.
So, while I'm not meeting my word targets, what I am managing is a reduction in the number of drafts and revisions I need to make to get a piece of writing finished. I'll take that as a win.
Good plan!
ReplyDeleteMany years ago I was told, "To survive financially as a genre writer, you have to learn to write very clean first drafts, because you can't afford the time for lengthy revisions."
Granted, if revisions are needed, you can't afford not to do them! But it's an excellent idea to set "not needing major revision" as one of your goals.
Wish I'd known this a bit earlier, but the truth is that learning is a process.
DeleteThank you.