Firefighting

You might assume the title doesn't have anything to do with writing, but you'd be wrong.  Or maybe to be more accurate, it describes what we probably shouldn't be doing as writers.  What I have in mind is the tendency to see something wrong and scramble over to fix it.  I know I have a problem sometimes with fixating on things, so I assume I'm not the only one.

For example, if I allow my brain to get in the way, I get stuck on the first or second draft as I try to make everything perfect.   I scramble from one perceived problem in my writing to another - much like a firefighter running from blaze to blaze.  What I should probably be doing is calmly getting through the drafting process, not imagining fires where none exist.  This isn't to say that I don't create writing mistakes as I write.  But if I get the story down from beginning to end and don't concentrate on whether it's the perfect word, I'd likely only have small fires to put out as opposed to hot blazes.

Maybe it's just late and I am spouting nonsense.  But when I'm struggling to get the words to flow, this is exactly what I feel like I'm doing - jumping from fire to fire.  Unfortunately I feel that way in my day job as well, but that's a whole other Oprah.

So am I alone here?  Anyone else ever feel like their putting out fires in their writing?