All the preparation in the world won’t eliminate necessary changes down the line
I dislike house painting. Inside or outside, I find the process tedious. And big. It’s a big job to cover all those walls. I like the results, of course, but, in my view, the process itself is a bore. So, the last time our walls needed painting, we called in the professionals. They arrived with an enormous number of tools, gizmos and gadgets to do the work. The result was sharp lines between the walls and ceiling and no messes on the floor. How did they manage it? It’s in the prep work, of course. The painting itself went quite quickly, but the two guys didn’t pick up a paintbrush until all the meticulous prep had been done first — the taping, the floor covering, the paint choosing, the cutting in. Then it was “simply” a matter of covering the walls and ceiling in broad brushstrokes. Done! In one way, it is not unlike writing: Get the idea, map the structure, do the research, find the images, only then start putting words on the screen. But unlike the house-painting project, once the