Editing and Revising
Lesson: I am always editing and revising my writing. Always. When I was preparing these pages I reread this first chapter of the book. I came to this line and it read: "Instead, Mike...". I paused and thought, "Instead what?" Yes, I understand that he threw off his covers instead of throwing up, but the "instead" didn't sound right to me. So I deleted it. What's the point? You should always be editing and revising your writing so that the meaning is clear. And...
Lesson: Trust your ear. If something doesn't sound right, then chances are it needs to be revised.