Find someone you trust to read your work, but not until the third draft. Before editing, put the work down for a while, step back, and read it with an eye to the solution. Lamott has written for years, recovering from chemical addiction in the process. Traveling Mercies made the Los Angeles Times paperback best seller list. At 44, she has her first office and her desk chair.
Perfectionism is a life of the oppressive.
If I'm writing badly, I'm open for business. Writing every day is like playing the scales. It can take her three years to write a novel. For Lamott, writing non-fiction is easier, but she finds the truth more intuitive and exciting in a novel. She admits to embellishing her non-fiction every step of the way.