As you set out to write:
Switch from one platform to another. Make your preliminary notes and outline in a piece of paper. This is the productive phase. Expand your notes into paragraphs while you type/write in your computer. This is a time to let your writing grow. Do not check your spontaneity in this phase. Avoid ‘backward’ movement. Later, the thought that you could finish your job makes you happier. Do not add any new points to the outline notes if it bothers you. Do not deviate from the outline because it bothers you!
It is good to put your work aside after the first draft is ready. For a while, you may feel pressed with the urgency to finish. No, you should allow the draft to mature. It is a time to relax with the satisfaction that you have created ‘two’ pages out of the blank regardless of the possible errors.
Later, when you are fully prepared to tackle your lapses yourself, read the draft onscreen once and get a print of it. Edit it yourself or pass it to someone for feedback. You can discern certain places for changes. Indicate the changes clearly. When the paper is dirty enough with comments and proofs, work in the computer. If you need any feedback on your work, show it to someone who does not expect too much of gratitude from you. Or let it not be someone who only ‘sniffs at the dirt’ and misses the fragrance lying side by side. Also, let it not be a person from whom you do not expect positive feedback. It should be someone who thinks that the opportunity to read your draft is a reward in itself. But, have you been able to make your creation so rewarding?
Ask about your weaknesses first making sure that your reader has time and desire to tell you the strengths. Do not defend your writing before you hear the strengths. Do remember to ask about the strong aspects, and as you hear them, show gratitude. Explain your weaknesses only if you need to. Otherwise, the best conclusion is to thank your reader for reading and showing your lapses.
Writing teachers say writing is an art. Readers experience the artistry. No writer is fully satisfied because s/he knows something was missed. Sometimes suddenly interesting ideas click when the work has gone out of hand. This always keeps your text in the phase of becoming. So, there is no worrying about what you have not done; the fact is the text is never complete each time a new reader goes through it.
