I studied literature in college. 

One semester, I took a course on how to write vignettes. First day of class, the professor had us count off by 2s.

“One.”

“Two.”

“One.”

“Two,” I said. 

“One.”

“Two.”

And so on until we all sounded off. 

“If you’re a one,” said the prof, “you will be graded solely on the *quality* of your final submission, the last vignette you turn in.”

The class murmured. 

“If you’re a two,” he continued, “you will be graded solely on the *quantity* of vignettes you turn in. The more you turn in, the higher your grade will be, regardless of the quality. Fifty vignettes gets you an automatic A plus.”

Hands shot up. The professor pointed at a student.

“Is that really fair?” he said. “Shouldn’t we all be graded on the quality of our work?”

“I agree,” someone interjected. “Vignettes are art — and art is about quality, not quantity. Anyone can write a bunch of crappy paragraphs!”

The professor walked around his desk and sat on its edge. “I’ve done this for years,” he said. “And you wanna know something?”

Quiet. 

“The people with the highest *quantity* of submissions always — always — produce the highest *quality* work, too.”

I wrote fifty vignettes that semester. 

It was one of the best things I ever did for my writing. 

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