#4. At some point, you will have to let go. Do it with joy and forward movement.  Leonardo da Vinci is supposed to have observed that works of art are never completed. Instead, they are abandoned. At some point every creative artist says “that is enough”, and they move on to the next work. They seldom return to an already completed work, and many incomplete works remain incomplete for a number of good reasons. You

#3. The only way to assess whether a story is ready for publication is to create a publication version, wait, and then read it.  I have discovered that the only way to assess the completeness, consistency, quality etc. of a story, a novella or a book is to actually package it up and create a publication of it. Then you wait. For enough time to disengage from it. Then you read it. You will get

#2.  There will always be major characters that become minor, and vice versa When writing a story, certain characters who you thought were major will recede into background as the story develops, while other characters who you thought were minor will become major.

#1. Content expands to fill the space occupied by one’s imagination. For me, this rule is a curse. I have a powerful imagination that goes in different directions. This ensures that my editing process once I am past revised Draft status, will be subtractive and not additive.