The Only Thing That Matters When It Comes to Your Writing
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
Would you rather publish an imperfect piece or never publish at all?
I started writing fanfiction when I was 11. After fanfiction, I dabbled in writing fiction stories about my life. They’re hideously embarrassing, but I love looking back on them. I even started writing a few books.
But there was a problem…
I never finished anything I started. I wrote fanfiction to post an Author’s Note in the middle of the story saying I lost inspiration and couldn’t finish. My book came to a halt in chapter 3.
I’ve learned a lot about writing since then.
Done is Better Than Perfect
I put so much pressure on myself for my material to be good that it gets in the way of my progress. I’m so desperate for it to be good I’d rather not publish at all than have something crappy.
I’ve learned my lesson. It’s better to finish your crappy product and publish it than to work on the ‘perfect’ piece forever.
You’re never going to be great if you’re not willing to be bad first. You have to start somewhere. There’s no way to progress otherwise.
Would you rather publish an imperfect piece or never publish at all?
It’s Gonna Be Rough
When I was in school, I delayed writing my English essays until two days before. Then I would panic. My teachers insisted that we started ahead of time so we had time for a rough draft and improvement.
Turns out, they were right.
You need to complete your rough draft before anything. You can’t edit something you haven’t written. You can’t improve a product that’s not there. You’ve got to put something on the piece of paper.
Until then, you won’t be able to edit, iterate, or get any better. Having a rough draft is necessary to improve.
Fear of Failure
Something is holding you back. You want to do the work, but you’re afraid. What are you so afraid of?
Failure. It’s normal.
Too often, you see failure as a sign you screwed up. But what if failure was something else? Failure is a stepping stone on the path to success. If you’re not failing, you’re not going to get any closer.
Failing is a good sign. It means you’re growing. It means you’re getting better. Without failure, you wouldn’t get anywhere.
Final Thoughts
When it comes down to it, you have to execute. That’s the name of the game. If you can’t take action and follow through, you’re screwed.
Failure will cripple you if you let it. Learn how to work through your fear and make your art.
You’ll feel fulfilled when you see your work come to life. There’s nothing better than putting your own work, your brain babies, out into the world.
Go put your art out in the world. It’s magical.
