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@David: I always thought I was a slow learner, because it took me a while to read through things. I couldn’t just skim. Turns out that I was just going through the rounds of deliberate practice.

As you mention, every profession has its own deliberate practice techniques. I think that too many people defer to a standard technique, though, not realizing that it has to be tailored to them. It’s hard to make a Top Ten list of things to do to that fits everybody for this reason. It’s also for this reason that coaches are invaluable.

Glad you caught some inspiration – that makes my day!

@Catherine: Thanks – and I should mention that I really liked your post “It’s not how you think….” I’ve been thinking about something similar that I hope to post within the next couple of days, but SXSW is looming near. LOOMING!

@Guy: Right on! I should’ve made that point more explicit than linking to the post before it, but I’m glad you added this to the discussion.

@Mike: Ah, the challenge you bring up is difficult. I hope I can eek out the post that talks more about that. I always love your feedback and insightful nudges.

@Sarah: I’m lovin’ the new you, FWIW. And I wish I’d thought of this, but I’m merely the messenger on this one. The fact that you were doing it unconsciously is a bit on the awesome side because you weren’t cognizant of the fact that you were practicing. Sometimes just knowing we’re pushing ourselves can, strangely, make us resistant to pushing ourselves. Keep at it!

I’ve often wondered about this – I could never understand why I was better than artists who were much older than me and liked to tell me that they’d been painting for 45 years. Great, I’d think, so why do you still suck? (Wow, I sound incredibly vain. I’m not. I’m just honest.) I’m not a brilliant painter yet, but I’m good for my age. I do this on a regular basis, but just never realized it. It wasn’t conscious.

Now that I know what it is, I can consciously recreate it to push myself and my art further. Awesome.

I noted that you hint at structuring your practice objectives prior to actually producing, and then using the practice as a refining/editing activity after the initial creation. I like where you are going with this latest series of posts, and I hope that you have further inspiration to share.

Execellent post.
Thankyou.

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Couldn’t agree more. I try to do this on my blog, by having recurring features that help me improve my writing (comparing features vs. benefits, learning the word of the day). I also do this in my fiction writing exactly as you describe. Being clear and concise is always a struggle, so I find myself rewriting with that very goal in mind — your example could not be more spot on, and I think that goes beyond just me.

There are so many examples — athletes who spend their summers working on specific skills improve more than those who play pickup games; great writers have often said they’ve typed verbatim a work from an author they admired in order to understand what they were doing when they wrote it.

In my personal life, I read books through a book club with friends, and I’m always the last to finish because I’m the only writer — I pore over the words, reread sections, consult the dictionary, etc. It can be aggravating to be behind, but I learn so much I wouldn’t change a thing.

Thank you so much for this article, Charlie; it managed to re-inspire me after a long day of writing.

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