There are so many questions here about correct this and correct that - from the length of chapters to - just about anything else - that I am now wondering...
What is the "fixation" with getting everything "just so"?
This applies especially at the draft level.
How many of us would write a CV/Resume and expect to get it 100% first time?
Also - why would there be editors, mentors and people to suggest revision if we always got everything exactly as it should be first time - or even 7th time?
Many years ago I did teacher training - fortunately it put me off teaching. One reason that it put me off is that I discovered the principle of "learning to fail" - the idea that there are social parameters that tell us appropriate levels at which to not progress successfully inorder to remain (happily) within our social group.
There is it seems social pressure to "not be stupid" and to "not fail" - but there are also social pressures that in Old language" would be expressed as "do not get above your station" - or in modern terms "don't ge too clever / don't be a geek".
I am certain that these pressures apply to us when we write. I am also certain that they influence or deep concerns about "getting it right" - and - "getting it right first time".
I ask though - why should we put these pressures on ourselves?
Let's get something written - and then sort it out to an improved version... And that doesn't have to be "right" either...
David
Um... Almost another question - please don't get mad at me if this doesn't apply to you...
When it's going well - isn't writing a bit like flying?
Isn't that part of why we do it?
We may only get airborne occassionally - but when we do... Wheeeee! It's terrific!
David
Jonathan
Perhaps I do write "by the seat of my pants". I am happy to say that I fly that way - my first lesson I lost natural horizon and just went straight onto instruments without hesitating. My instructor was a bit stunned - but didn't tell me so until we were back on the ground. (Some professional pilots have since wanted to strangle me - apparently this isn't the "usual" reaction to losing natural horizon - especially not first time...
However - I love you description of levels of competence - epsecially level 4. :-)
But... I still ask - Why are we so fixated on getting our work "right"?
I guess though that getting it "competent" is reasonable...
I'm also trying to help aspiring writers here as you surmise... And I hope that encouraging them to aim for levels of competence - rather than perfection - will really help them
David
Ah - Mr Foster, you're a 'seat of the pants' writer, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I sometimes wish I could do it but...I can't. Not often, anyway.
I think much of the comment and query here comes from the 'consciously incompetent' level of penmanship, which I include myself within. I'm still trying to work out the most effective way of getting ideas on paper as quickly, regularly and accurately as possible and still I've not discovered the best way to achieve that. But I've learned a lot along the way, and trying to help others avoid the mistakes I've made so far is the main reason I post here. I'm pretty sure that's your motive, too.
Getting something written is the end, but the means is very individual. I have to have some sort of plan or I'm straight up a gum tree - that was the very first thing I discovered, even, very often, when writing something as apparently straightforward as a blog post. I admire those with the self-confidence or ability to 'just write', but it seems many members here are like me and can't. I used to write off-the-cuff in school, but seem to have lost the knack since. Those days are long past, mind ;)
I don't think there's any avoiding sifting through mounds of advice to find a method that suits you, and it's a matter of trial and error. I have no sense of direction, so a map is a must for me because SatNav's not trustworthy. Though I do admit to using both on occasion. And that's the issue - whatever you're most comfortable with is the way to go, but first you have to know what roads there are.
I'm currently aiming to be 'consciously competent' by the end of the third book, though 'unconsciously competent' still seems a very long way off.
As long as I avoid the fourth level of competence I'll be happy. That's 'unconsciously incompetent' for the uninitiated ;)