​forgiving myself for crappy first drafts,
allowing trusted experts to make edits,
eliminating all but what is essential,

paying attention to sight, sound, taste, and touch,
choosing the right words,
showing rather than telling, 

learning from those I admire while staying true to my own voice,
running into my fears rather than running away from them,
searching for the universal in the particular, 

telling a good story,
counting goof-ups as  “material,”
venturing down rabbit holes 

stepping back to consider the big picture,
keeping characters dynamic and multidimensional,
giving up on deus ex machine,

making art out of imperfection 

I wish I strove to live the way I strive to write