If I'm struggling with perfectionism I find it helps to start writing bad intentionally for a bit, gets me into the flow of getting words down and sets a very low bar for the rest of the work
I don't remember where I first heard it (on a podcast, but no idea which one), but the phrase that helps me is: "You don't have to write the best book. You just have to write the book." Even if it's not a book — an essay, a story, an article. Just make the damn thing.
Also, there's a sticky note above my desk that says, "Stay in it." This is mostly a reminder to avoid distractions and stay in the train of thought.
An agent friend once told me, after I’d ranted to her about wanting to give up on a draft: “Thing is, Jo - it’s just a book. Write it or don’t. Your ego doesn’t have to get involved.”
"Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly." -Franz Kafka
AND
"Create an environment where you're free to express what you're afraid to express." -Rick Rubin
In their essay "Revise Toward Praise, Not Away from Criticism," A. E. Osworth says:
"A first draft isn’t supposed to be anything, really, so how can you judge it as shitty or not? If we think about pottery, a first draft isn’t even our first attempt at throwing a pot on the wheel. A first draft is the clay. It’s still formless and wet and it smells like the river. We shouldn’t judge clay for not coming out of the ground already looking like a pot. The process is what makes it into a pot. We shouldn’t call the clay shitty, and we shouldn’t call our drafts shitty either. You can praise a draft; the praise is still honest. The first draft is exactly what it needs to be: a first draft."
Well, I try to avoid the "It doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to be." thought because I've been told that, right after I was born, that is what my Dad told my mom when she asked his opinion of the newborn son he held in his arms... I don't remember any quotes from anyone else that helps me kick start my writing. I usually just say to myself "This is just for funsies" and go on from there.
for SURE needed this — even though i tell myself to write without judgement, getting words on a page, for a first draft, i’m finding it really hard to begin a new POV for my novel that i realized i needed to add…after already going through 3-4 drafts 😅
And as for the new POV (or any major change/addition in the editing phase), I try to remind myself that getting to do something new and unknown is an opportunity to discover something exciting. And those 3-4 drafts are what got you to this important realisation, so appreciate how hard you've worked and how far you've come already.
love that reframing! I’m trying to tell myself that I felt the same way when I initially started my novel (because it’s…true) and once I actually started, it wasn’t so bad. It’s just the starting that can be hard 🥲
This has been a big help to me:
https://www.fastcompany.com/91167772/how-i-wrote-a-book-in-15-minutes-a-day
If you can't write, make notes instead. When I make notes, I worry less about perfectionism because, it's just notes.
And then, sometimes, I find something to write.
Oh yes yes yes. I think 90% of writing happens off the actual manuscript page.
My OH once said, ‘You have absolutely nothing to prove.’ Sounds negative, actually remarkably liberating.
Love this! The invisible audience/judgement we create is so ridiculous sometimes.
If I'm struggling with perfectionism I find it helps to start writing bad intentionally for a bit, gets me into the flow of getting words down and sets a very low bar for the rest of the work
When I performed improv comedy, a common exercise in rehearsal and group work was to warm up by doing the worst scenes imaginable.
Everyone intentionally tried to be unfunny, to listen poorly, to make their lines as nonsensical and cringe as possible.
Always amazed me how funny this was.
Hell yeah. Put the bar down on the floor!
I don't remember where I first heard it (on a podcast, but no idea which one), but the phrase that helps me is: "You don't have to write the best book. You just have to write the book." Even if it's not a book — an essay, a story, an article. Just make the damn thing.
Also, there's a sticky note above my desk that says, "Stay in it." This is mostly a reminder to avoid distractions and stay in the train of thought.
All of this. Especially love “stay in it”
An agent friend once told me, after I’d ranted to her about wanting to give up on a draft: “Thing is, Jo - it’s just a book. Write it or don’t. Your ego doesn’t have to get involved.”
Best slap in the face ever.
"Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly." -Franz Kafka
AND
"Create an environment where you're free to express what you're afraid to express." -Rick Rubin
No mercy, we write like Kafka 🙌
In their essay "Revise Toward Praise, Not Away from Criticism," A. E. Osworth says:
"A first draft isn’t supposed to be anything, really, so how can you judge it as shitty or not? If we think about pottery, a first draft isn’t even our first attempt at throwing a pot on the wheel. A first draft is the clay. It’s still formless and wet and it smells like the river. We shouldn’t judge clay for not coming out of the ground already looking like a pot. The process is what makes it into a pot. We shouldn’t call the clay shitty, and we shouldn’t call our drafts shitty either. You can praise a draft; the praise is still honest. The first draft is exactly what it needs to be: a first draft."
(https://magazine.catapult.co/dont-write-alone/stories/praise-workshop-writing-revision-teaching)
Well, I try to avoid the "It doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to be." thought because I've been told that, right after I was born, that is what my Dad told my mom when she asked his opinion of the newborn son he held in his arms... I don't remember any quotes from anyone else that helps me kick start my writing. I usually just say to myself "This is just for funsies" and go on from there.
Oh my godddd 😂
(I was a “happy accident” fourth child, so I guess that also doubles as some kind of writing advice - you never know what’s gonna turn up?!)
Just for funsies is an excellent way to approach things, too.
Be yourself. Everyone else is taken. - Oscar Wilde
"...Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning." -Gloria Steinem
1000% yes to dreaming :D
for SURE needed this — even though i tell myself to write without judgement, getting words on a page, for a first draft, i’m finding it really hard to begin a new POV for my novel that i realized i needed to add…after already going through 3-4 drafts 😅
"Write without judgement" is an excellent one.
And as for the new POV (or any major change/addition in the editing phase), I try to remind myself that getting to do something new and unknown is an opportunity to discover something exciting. And those 3-4 drafts are what got you to this important realisation, so appreciate how hard you've worked and how far you've come already.
love that reframing! I’m trying to tell myself that I felt the same way when I initially started my novel (because it’s…true) and once I actually started, it wasn’t so bad. It’s just the starting that can be hard 🥲