Good Writing Is Not Guaranteed With Every Try

If we're honest with ourselves, we know that not everything we write is going to be great. Or publishable. I'd guess that a good many successful writers have stacks of stories/essays that have never seen publication in their files. 

Even the 'good guys' write not-so-hot tales at times and so do we who are still working hard to be one of those often published writers. Why? 

• an idea comes and we write too fast and carelessly
• we don't let that first draft sit and simmer for a few days
• we don't edit carefully
• we're too hurried to consider major revisions
• we're tired
• we're in the I'll never be a great writer mode at the time
• we write with surface thoughts; we don't take time to dig deeper

The more we write, the better writers we can become if we pay attention to all the little do's instead of the don'ts in the writing world. We also have to have a mindset that not every single piece we write is going to be super. Even if we're good, we're not perfect.

The positive in writing many pieces is that the writer can go back later and improve on the ones that were not picked up by an editor. That is reason enough to keep the ones you consider 'bad.' 

I have written a few fiction stories that I thought would turn out pretty well. The idea I had for the story was a good one. After reading what I'd written, I thought something like What a bunch of drivel this is! When we read our first draft over, we know if it has potential or if it is one to file and forget for awhile. Some of them should be forgotten for a long while!

All of the above is a good reason to write regularly and produce myriad stories, essays, poems or whatever your specialty happens to be. Make writing a habit, not an occasional pastime.