To be honest, I think the worst part about writing a novel (for me) is that I absolutely have to half-ass it if I want to make any progress at all.
Because the way my process works, there is no point in spending hours editing a scene if, by the time I get to the end of the draft, I realize it is not actually needed for the plot. And I can spend weeks just making the first line pop but how much can I really say with it if I do not know the themes of my own story yet, or know what I need to foreshadow?
Why put it all that work at the beginning and scrap most of it when it would be more efficient to word-vomit something atrocious now and slowly chip away at it like a sculptor revealing a veinous hand in the marble, putting in the effort once I know where effort is actually needed?
At the same time, as a chronic perfectionist, half-assing something is terrifying because I start to fear it might actually be my best work, or that I am "losing it" and out of practice.
Eventually that half-assing will turn into a full-ass, because with each draft I will add back a little more of what I let go of last draft; but GOD is it hard to read something of yours that is riddled with mistakes you can see from a mile away, and that you know how to fix... and just move on without touching them.
You really do just have to trust that your future self has the same standards as you and will put in the effort you are putting off when the time is right; and if the problem is beyond her skill to fix she will research the shit out of it, ask for help, and try until it works. She won't settle for anything less than perfect (or at least, I cannot think of anything that would make this better so it might as well be done), but she can't get there until you do.
