how lack of mastery can be a good thing

"The persistent problem with my writing is that I never know how something is going to come out; even when I write a short review, I always have to start over. I have no mastery. But it's actually beneficial -- it prevents things from becoming routine." - Heinrich Boll

Don't let fear of mastery (or the lack of it) keep you from writing. Self-doubt, fear, self-criticism, these feelings and thoughts will creep up and threaten to stop us from our writing goals. There is little use in trying to eliminate or suppress them. Better to acknowledge them as they occur; then let them pass through the mind and continue writing. Too much agonizing and brooding over them only leads to melancholy and stagnation.

If possible, look upon them as a benefit, as Boll does, as a reminder of the power and possibility inherent in the act of revision and a measure of how much one values close attention to the craft. Let your inner critic push your writing to new heights.