Some people think that the key to success in developing excellent writing skills is to fashion each piece diligently. Tweak it, fix it and rework it till it’s perfect. After all, that’s how you learn many things, from shooting a free throw to driving a car.
Strangely enough, that’s not the way it works with writing. In fact, I’d venture so far as to suggest that working tirelessly for perfection is more likely to be detrimental to improving your abilities. That’s because a perfectly-wrought piece, while ideal, is hardly attainable. There will always be something you can change to make a piece of writing better.
Instead of going about things that way, a smarter alternative will be to leave things when they’re good enough. Does it read well? Is the message clear? Has the writing software run through it with no more errors? Does it flow smoothly from one section to the next? If it does, it might be time to close the book on the piece and start work on a new one.
Just write more. Start a new piece from scratch, proof it and revise it till it’s good enough. Then, do it all over again. Creating more, instead of tweaking repeatedly, is what will truly speed up your skills development, especially when coupled with a set of competent writing tools.
