In reply to Wiley Coyote:
I agree with Vince McNally.
This:
> I confess I treat sport as bolted trad (no dogging, no practising). I don't redpoint as I find it boring, I'm rubbish on small holds as I am almost 14stone these days and I'm terrified of falling off, despite having soloed up to E2.
> So the question is: what am I dong so wrong and, more to the point, what can I do to up my grade
Suggests to me that you know what you need to work on, really, you are just deciding whether or not it is worth the effort.
> - short of spending yonks on some hideous project?
I concede that from the outside, looking in, redpointing can seem really, really dull. And I also concede that long drawn out projects probably are not everyone's cup of tea. But the reason why some people will spend weeks, months, or possibly years on the same route, is because it becomes really, really engaging.
I have a project on the go at the moment - it wouldn't be my hardest ever, but it seems to be taking the longest - but honestly, genuinely, I'm not in any hurry to tick it because it is such a joy to climb. It is the only thing I have been on where I don't mind falling off, because it means I get to keep on climbing it - it's that good a route.
Projecting means you get to climb awesome routes, get to know them really well (that 'anonymous' feeling you get with low graded sport climbing really couldn't be further from the truth) and have the feeling of moving well on them. Projecting is great fun when you get into it, the key is to find routes that make you inspired.
I suspect however that you have already made up your mind about it and are not looking to be convinced otherwise.