Don't Obsess Over The Small Stuff

I was working with an author just recently who was struggling with this issue. Actually, she struggles with this on nearly every book she has written for me. She gets overly hung up on a single scene, or a single plot element.

While making sure everything is in great working order with your story is important, when you are in the middle of writing, that is really not the time to stop what you are doing and focus too much on those smaller details. Forward momentum is going to be the key.

I see authors do this as well with things such as opening lines, getting the right words in a pitch or a query, and so forth. This "wordsmithing" really slows things down. Not only that, when you spend this much time obsessing over these small things, you start to get negative thoughts about your story.

For my author, our solution is simple. We jot down the issues she is having with a particular scene. We make a reference of these and go back to make those tweaks later. Now please understand, we do not ignore the problem. We simply get the story to a functional stage and then, when her mind is back in the game, we go back and take care of the issues.

I always like to think of this as when and how you find your best solutions. It is NEVER when you are working on the actual problem. It is at 3 am. It is in the middle of a sermon at church (my father-in-law and I developed our best lesson plans at church). For me, it is when I am cleaning the house or cooking. You need to step back and give your brain a chance to figure it out.

I would also add that some of those small things are really not going to stand in the way of an agent or editor wanting to read more. We know there will be work to do. Get it to that 85%-90% quality range and you will be good.