Rule 6 of 22 · Chapter II — On Work
Finish before you polish
Why this rule exists
I can polish a first paragraph forever and call it progress. But a beautiful opening attached to nothing is just a nice way of not finishing. Perfecting the parts before the whole exists is often fear wearing the costume of craft. What I have learned is that a rough, complete thing teaches me more than a flawless fragment ever could. You cannot edit what does not yet exist.
In practice
I try to get to the end first, ugly and all, before I let myself improve anything. I give myself permission to write badly on the way through, knowing the fixing comes later. When I feel the urge to perfect an early piece, I make a note in the margin and keep moving toward done.
When it doesn't apply
Some work needs care built in from the first line — a legal clause, a load-bearing calculation. And a finished draft still deserves real polishing. The rule is about sequence, not about lowering the bar.