I must say that the more I learn in classes and workshops about what it is to be a decent writer, the more I recognize different patterns in the books that I listen to and read. For some genres, what I would call "mistakes” are purposeful, appropriate for the target audience, and part of the author’s style. Fiction has some best-practice guidelines and rules that are noticeable when broken.

I’m on the road a lot and listen to audiobooks while I drive. I find myself talking back to the sound system, “how did your editor let that slip?” when I hear repeated words, clearly overly-used and blatently-placed descriptors (yes, that was on purpose), and poor dialogue tags. My heightened awareness then makes me review my own work again to make sure I have not made the same mistakes.

Taking in the projects of other authors also allows me to glean methods for building environment, character, and mood. I may admire the the pacing and tension of a difficult scene in another work, and therefore gain insight to better create a more sensory atmosphere in my own.

That’s when I start filling in the blanks, adding a cornucopia of sensory clues to immerse the reader in a world rife with texture, scent, lighting, and realistic characters who have quirks and habits. It takes time, patience, exploration, testing, and feedback from trusted critique partners to get just the right version of words.

If you are a new writer, I encourage you to plug away at your story without a deadline. Allow yourself time to struggle, solve, and savor the process. Find another writer, not necessarily working in the same genre, who can help spot passages or scenes that are clunky or confusing. This partnership provides a schedule to submit a chapter, such as monthly meetups over coffee. It also gives you a chance to share what each of you are learning, bounce ideas off one another, and get a different perspective on your work.

I have often left my monthly collaboration excited to enhance the just-reviewed chapter with some of my critique partner’s ideas, and end up continuing into additional chapters with renewed vigor.

There is a bumper sticker which boasts “A bad day fishing is better than a good day working.” I look at writing the same way as compared to my regular paycheck job. A day of writing, even when most of my time is spent researching, rewriting, and resolving difficult scenes, may leave me mentally spent, but absolutely fulfilled.