For those of you who are not golfers - a mulligan is a do-over, allowing yourself to take another swing at the golf ball without counting the stroke. Most golfers call this for what it is - cheating! But as a writer, mulligans are okay. Rewrites are just a fact of life; if not starting over with a whole new story completely.
Rarely does a writer construct a great story on her first draft. If you realize the benefit of rewriting you won't see it as fixing a poor story; rather, just getting your story out of the rough!
The key is to know when a rewrite is needed, or when a major revision will be enough. Belonging to a critique group and using beta readers when your manuscript is complete will help you determine the "score" of your story. In any event, I have realized that being a writer is one of the best ways to learn perseverance, much like playing golf.
FORE!
