Thursday, May 28, 2009

Perfection: Not happenin'

So. You think you have to get it right, straight out of your fingertips? Well, I am here to tell you, it just ain't so.

Yes, my grammar teacher would love me today. The fact is, I am feeling rather frothy. I mean, in order to get words on the page, we have to allow ourselves to be imperfect. For some people that is an impossibility. They either, A. don't have the time to go back and edit, or B. don't want to ever write anything that just isn't the best they can make it from the get go.

I am changing my methodology, though, as I am one of the above mentioned, and no, I am not saying which.

I am allowing myself the freedom to write ick on the first draft. I think truly it is okay, because who is gonna see it anyway?? No ONE! just me. So if I say it is okay to write garbage on the first round, to get the dang story out, then it IS okay.

Now.

I feel much better. I feel like this song :
Free to be Me

5 comments:

Marta Stephens said...

Hmmm I know which one I am. LOL

s.w. vaughn said...

I guess you could say I'm a reformed type B here. :-) I used to try and make everything the best it could be the first time. That never saved me from having to go through and edit the whole thing when I finished - at least twice, usually a lot more times.

Now, I'm just writing ahead. And going back to make retrofit notes when I find I need to change something I already wrote.

Here's hoping it works... :-)

Sheila Deeth said...

I usually discuss the ick with the dog while walking, but lots of it lands on the pages anyway. But I had to stop being a perfectionist when I had kids and my son informed me that it wasn't a bedtime story unless it was written down.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Very encouraging post today. Thanks. I may only be editing, but at least I'm trying.

Good for me!

Cat Connor said...

I write and worry about it later. Always have done.
Usually I find my first drafts aren't as awful as I think, once the story is out and the revising begins.
A little blind faith in the story goes a long way sometime!