@Thaisa–I have to think about this more. Of course, even if there are recipes, they’ll be different for each writer. Knowing your own process is a true gift. But throwing the whole thing out, often more than once, seems to be a part of the process for many great novels and novelists (Junot Diaz, Kiran Desai and–in memoir–Mary Karr).

@Sylvia–I keep hearing about Dani Shapiro’s book. I’ll have to pick it up. But yes, if I can encourage *you* as you write, I’ll know I’ve done my job. If we wait to write perfectly–or, sometimes, even well–we may miss what would come after the bad practice writing with which we could otherwise begin.

Would you say, though, that there are different points in the story? If it’s a short story, I can practice for the whole time until it sort of arranges itself. But in a novel, I reach a point where I know that I’m taking paths that aren’t detours back to the main road. Then I’ll get lost in a way that can feel overwhelming And of course I have to throw everything out.