Perfection

How many of you remember the game of Perfection? For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a game where you set the timer on the game and then you try to fit all the pieces into the correct spot before the time runs out. If you don't succeed the board pops up and shoots pieces everywhere.

Now why do I bring this game up on a writing blog? Because I have noticed lately that writing my book feels a lot like playing the game of Perfection. When I wrote the first draft for Nanowrimo, I just put in any old piece into the plot holes to finish the book. But now that I'm rewriting, I'm looking for the right pieces that fit into my story. Many times this means I try several different ideas in my head and on paper before one finally fits into place. This is a very slow process and many times I feel like my time ran out and threw everything into the air and I have to start all over again. But all the frustration and time is worth it when a piece finally clicks into place and I can feel that this piece was always meant to be in this story. Victory tastes very sweet in those moments. But this also begs the question, how much perfection am I really going for in my novel? Does it really have to be perfect? At what point do I need to say, it's ok to have some parts that don't feel as perfect as others? I'm pretty sure I will get to that point. But right now, I'm still looking for the perfect plot points and ideas for my book.

What about you? Do you play the Perfection game with your novel?