post by Michelle Griep
Beware. There's a ditch on each side of the road to becoming a successful writer. Lot's of people swerve left or right and land in the gulley, flat on their back, gasping for breath, and wondering why they never make any progress in their writing endeavors. Here's a little nugget of wisdom for you . . . stay out of the ditch.

One ditch is a perfectionist attitude.

Do you keep writing the same piece over and over, trying to get it absolutely perfect before letting anyone else lay eyes on it? Are you so worried about creating the best possible prose that you find it hard to put together a finished piece? If so, then you, my friend, are a perfectionist. Newsflash: there are no perfect writers. Nope. Not one.

The other ditch is an unteachable spirit.

This is the ditch on the opposite side of the road from perfectionism. Someone who's writing is stuck in a deep rut simply because he won't listen to advice from seasoned writers on how to improve his craft. Your writing will never advance if you don't work hard to make it grow.

The trick to becoming a successful writer is to not veer off into either of these ditches. Just keep plugging along, one word after another, and eventually you'll look over your shoulder and see how far you've traveled.