Upon getting something I'll regard as a draft, I try to let it sit for at least three weeks before taking a look at it again. If I look at it and still hate it, back off the desktop it all goes. Then I'll catch a wild hair one day, try to get back to the house still on fire, to chop it to bits. Then I sit back, read the hacked mess, and start the whole compulsive process over again.

Tips? Boy, that's like giving tips about how to catch fish. Can one counsel patience? Be very, very satisfied with hitting a leg double your first-at-bat. Maybe sacrifice fly is better. I've had to teach myself how to do this, and I'm still not very good at it.

Good luck.