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The 80/20 rule and preparing bardic
Mar. 7th, 2009 12:50 amLast Pennsic, Alethea commissioned me to write a piece about the regicide field battle and her role therein. I figured that since I'd written 5 new pieces at Pennsic, this one could wait a few weeks until I saw her again. Long story short, life kept getting in the way until I had no time left. Tomorrow is probably going to be the last time I get to see Alethea as queen (at least for this reign) and I really wanted to have the poem for her before she stepped down.
So I wrote it on Monday.
It's 40 lines long and I had 5 days to get it in a presentable enough state that I'd be ready to perform it in front of a crowded feast hall if necessary. As Marc wisely said, I've taken on larger tasks and succeeded, but I don't do it very often.
By Tuesday evening, I had it about 80% ready. What does that mean? Well, I could recite the whole thing, but I'd stumble at least 5-6 times while I was doing it. I could do the whole thing, but I really needed to concentrate and wouldn't be able to engage with the audience while I was performing. In short, it was okay, but it wasn't the sort of thing I wanted to present to Her Royal Majesty of the East Kingdom.
I've been practising. A lot. I think, after a further 3 days, that I've finally got it in presentable shape. I'd like an extra day or two to polish it up just that little bit more, but I don't have another day or two. It's been a slog, but I'm ready. Just goes to show, though, that the 80/20 really exists. To get to 80% took about a day, to get to 95% took another three, and to get to 100% is probably going to take at least a few more weeks of sporadic practice.
So I wrote it on Monday.
It's 40 lines long and I had 5 days to get it in a presentable enough state that I'd be ready to perform it in front of a crowded feast hall if necessary. As Marc wisely said, I've taken on larger tasks and succeeded, but I don't do it very often.
By Tuesday evening, I had it about 80% ready. What does that mean? Well, I could recite the whole thing, but I'd stumble at least 5-6 times while I was doing it. I could do the whole thing, but I really needed to concentrate and wouldn't be able to engage with the audience while I was performing. In short, it was okay, but it wasn't the sort of thing I wanted to present to Her Royal Majesty of the East Kingdom.
I've been practising. A lot. I think, after a further 3 days, that I've finally got it in presentable shape. I'd like an extra day or two to polish it up just that little bit more, but I don't have another day or two. It's been a slog, but I'm ready. Just goes to show, though, that the 80/20 really exists. To get to 80% took about a day, to get to 95% took another three, and to get to 100% is probably going to take at least a few more weeks of sporadic practice.
