My newest book took me six drafts to write.
The problem is I kept trying to make everything perfect right at the start. All of which caused the muscles of my brain to cramp. I’d keep deleting and re-writing, deleting and re-writing, and nothing would ever get done. It wasn’t until I finally let go, when I somehow stopped caring so much, that things began to happen in a way that actually felt pretty OK. Once I got over the idea that I had to be great, I was finally able to be good.
The ironic thing about this (by the wayyy) is how the principle of being an anti-perfectionist is one of the first themes I develop in my book: Don’t let great be the enemy of good. That’s literally chapter #1. (I think it’s chapter one. It may be chapter two…). Writing is best when it is fluid and natural and when it seems like the person behind the words is having fun. But you can’t have fun writing unless you’re OK with making a mess. If you don’t, then you’re always going to be one mean crab apple, constantly disappointed with everything you put out. And you can’t have fun doing anything you’re constantly disappointed with. That would be impossible.
So, here’s what needs to happen: You need to accept that not everything is going to turn out the way you want it to (at first), and that’s OK. Because we can always edit, and we always should edit. That’s what good writing is: editing. But you can’t edit that which you haven’t already written. So, relax a little. Listen to a fun song. And get a move on. Just write.
– Pat
PS – Here’s a little more on perfectionism.