Bullshit Detector

Hemingway called it a bullshit detector. It's that part of you that can recognize what isn't working.

The better yours gets, the smaller the amount of writing you do that can get away from activating the device.

Faulty device ? You submit crap and it isn't published. You might be submitting good stuff that isn't published but odds are ... it's crap.

Hyperactive device ? You never finish but are paralyzed in rewrite.

The trick is knowing yours well. I find when I re-read my stuff after a cooling off period that I find a ton of  JFC-WTF bits. That means my detector is working and I might need to buy another bulb for it unless I square away.

I also need to work on crafting the first draft with fewer of these moments. For whatever reason, I've learned a lot in the past week.