Writers who do not write are often perfectionists. Since perfection does not exist and it is wholly unattainable, perfectionism leads us to procrastinate. In turn, procrastination turns into paralysis, i.e., not writing.
Perfectionism is the primary reason I see for an author’s inability to start or to complete a project. I confess. . . . I know this firsthand. I am an admitted serial perfectionist in many areas of my life. But, thankfully, I can say that I am a recovering perfectionist.
How have I gotten beyond it? Quite simply, I have allowed myself to create imperfection. That idea will make some authors so uncomfortable they won’t even finish reading this post. Is that you? I realize this sort of behavior, for some of you, simply will not be an option; you will consider what I am suggesting here an outright sacrilege. I assure you, however, that it is an utterly liberating endeavor.
Allow yourself to create imperfection. In fact, deliberately practice it! Set aside time to do writing exercises in which you give yourself complete permission to write imperfectly.
This is called “practice.”
We do not expect someone to be a successful cellist, pianist, painter, ballerina, marathon runner, actor, sculptor, photographer—you name it—without a great deal of practice, often years of it. So how is it that we expect that we can simply sit down and write an astounding tome without doing the practice first?
Writers must practice just as other artists and athletes and professionals do, and practice inherently involves imperfection. But it also leads to recognition and identification of your weaknesses and your strengths; it gives you an awareness about your writing that can take you on the proper path to refining your skills in a deliberate and purposeful fashion.
Quite simply, permitting imperfection will allow you to improve as a writer.
So let go of perfectionism from this very moment. Dig out those writing exercises you learned at that last conference. Or just sit and free-write. And, yes, give yourself permission to write awful stuff! Burn it or bury it later if you are so driven, but do it. In whatever way you decide to practice imperfection, start now.
Gina Hogan Edwards is an Editor and Creativity Coach, and the founder of Around the Writer’s Table. She supports aspiring and experienced authors who want a writing life on their own terms, whether their words are put on the page for self-fulfillment or to share with readers.
Gina Edwards is a retreat leader, a certified creativity coach, and a book editor. She is also a writer, so she’s intimately familiar with the challenges and elation that come with being one.
She supports all writers—published and aspiring—who want to write as an act of courageous and necessary self-expression.
Walking the writer’s path hand-in-hand with her clients and students, she helps them establish a writing practice and define a creative life on their own terms.
Write without judging. Write for the process and the learning that comes with any journey. Consider that what you have to say will be added to the chorus of other voices expressing the human condition in words. Together we will get it right, individually we add a drop to the river. We are not important enough to cause much of a ripple if we are less than perfect in our writing. If we claim the label “writer” all we owe is the effort.
This reminds me of something proficient quilters do. They intentionally introduce a flaw to their work and this releases them from any further mistakes because they already know and accept the finished product will not be perfect. It can still be stunningly beautiful and intricate. Only God can make something that’s perfect.