Writing tip: Be consistent in your tense

Confession: My second writing assignment for my course is exactly one week late, and going in the mail tomorrow. I've figured out what my problem is: I've lost a ton of confidence in my writing, and once I get something like that in my head, it's hard to get over it. And then I procrastinate. But then I have a day like yesterday, and I get irritated at myself for frickin' dragging my feet for so long. I really just sat down, brainstormed a few ideas, and before I knew it, I had a 1,300-word story that, I think, came out really okay. I let it sit and percolate for 24 hours, then cleaned and freshened it up for submission this afternoon. It's ready and waiting right behind me on the floor, all cozy in its envelope. So tomorrow, Sydney and I are off to the post office.
As for my first assignment, Judy had some nice compliments, but also some on-the-spot criticisms. Compliments are good, but you don't learn anything from them, so it's the critique that interested me most. I should have plunged right into the action instead of setting up the scene in the opening paragraph; my dialog was too advanced for the age group; and the main conflict was resolved by luck, not by the main characters. Valid issues, definitely. Stuff I need to work on, of course.
I think I covered those problems with my second assignment. Or, I know I did, I'm just not sure if I did it right. Jeez, I had forgotten how awful it is to sit back and wait for someone's opinion of your work. And for this, I'll be waiting for a few weeks definitely. On to Assignment 3! On time and done enthusiastically!