Do you second guess your writing skills?

[Nell_Gavin]

[quote=""71writer""]2. DON'T read it back! When writing a first draft, just KEEP GOING no matter what. Don't do any revision or editing until you've got to the end. Otherwise you'll get stuck in a loop and never finish. [/quote]

This works for some people but not for me. If I had to go back and face an entire manuscript of horrible first draft writing, I would get discouraged and give up! All that horrible writing hitting me at once...Help! I'm meltttt-iiiiinnng!

I always need to have a few chapters I've honed and perfected so that I can retreat to them for reassurance when I lose hope. It's those random finished chapters that keep me sloughing through the unfinished ones when I'd otherwise feel overwhelmed.

So I don't exactly work in an "endless loop" but more of a "swirling spiral". I kind of enjoy it. The spiral starts out at a really wide circle, then gets narrower and narrower until I hit dead center: finished.

So I guess Step 1 might be to get to know yourself, and what it takes for you. Try a little of what everyone suggests until you find what works.