When I did woodworking projects as a kid, I was always told:
“Measure twice,
Cut once.”
Which was another way of saying, “have a plan!”
That makes sense in woodworking. Because once you saw a board in two there’s no going back. Anything you do to reattach the pieces will not return the boards previous strength. So if you cut it wrong the board is wasted.
Sometimes I approach writing a story this way. I try to plan everything before I start. But the adage doesn’t hold true for writing. A better one would be:
“Measure once,
Cut repeatedly.”
Sure, you need to measure( make a plan ). It’s good to have an idea where the story is going. But it isn’t the planning that makes a story great, it’s the rewrites.
When you saw off the boards of a story, known as words, you can alway put them back together later. And when you do, they’ll be stronger than before.
So go ahead, just cut anywhere.
