Perfection: The Writer's Nemesis

Writing's dead easy. One draft and it ends up on the bestseller's list. Right? If only it were that simple. Few writers experience the single draft miracle, while the rest of us chase the perfect draft. But hey, we're writers. Quests are what we yearn for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDtxapREGWHp0&v=txapREGWHp0

You may have noticed last post, I mentioned the writer's nemesis: the blank page. Perfection too, according to this post's title is their nemesis. Writers, it turns out, have a lot of them. Like Hercules, the poor writer must battle a multitude of enemies to reach that coveted prize: publication (or film deal or tv series...).

And, to be totally honest with you, I'm still battling too.

So why should you read any further? Why should you listen to someone who hasn't yet slayed the hydra?

Because I understand the struggle. I know life gets in the way; that sitting down to the page (or the laptop) day after day is frankly, at times, impossible. And I know that any writer who says it's easy is either lying or not doing it properly... (or has a magic wand or formula to transfer the brain's vision effortlessly to paper. If that's you, please let me in on the secret).

But here's my discovery (and yes, I know almost every writerly blog bangs on about it)... The biggest enemy to you the writer - the antagonist to your humble hero, if you will is... you.

Not much of a discovery huh? Because what that means- or at least the way I took it- is you have to change yourself. You must become the epitomic writer. Now. Before it's too late. Get into a routine. Lock yourself in a room for an hour (minimum) a day and just slog!

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

Ernest Hemingway

But what if you aren't that person. What if you can't change with the click of a finger or an alarm set at 4am, to have some peace before the toddler tyrant wakes up at 5? What if those time (and icon) trusted strategies arm your enemy not you, the writer...?

The quest for perfection

We all seek perfection, whether we recognise it or not. As we write there is always that niggle: This has got to be better. This is nowhere good enough. Why can't I just get what's in my head down on the paper? Why, in short, aren't I better than this?

Even when we do recognise it in our writing and put the voice in a box, lock it and shove it in a corner under some internal soundproofing, there are the other 'perfections' that prevent us from writing:

• It's not the perfect time (there's only half an hour to the bus you have to catch; nowhere near enough time to get a whole scene down).

• There aren't the perfect writing conditions (toddler tyrant is on the warpath and the neighbours strimmer is on overdrive).

• I haven't been able to go through my pre-writing ritual which gets me in the perfect headspace (my 'writing' mug is in the dishwasher which is on so I can't do my writing now. Yes, a real example I'm ashamed to say I have used against myself).

The common thread, of course, is you. (Or me in the above instances. I told you I'd been there!) When writers and craft books talk about overcoming the overwhelming barrier that is perfection, they usually mention accepting the flaws and writing a 'shitty first draft' (technical term) that you can edit into near-perfection later. They offer strategies to just keep writing- as if we were Finding Nemo's Dory with a pen in our hands.

And yet, a lot of them intrinsically - though unintentionally- build perfectionism into the suggested writing routine before you even come to the page. Eg. (potentially) feeding the fire in the perfection monster that stands between you and your finished story.

So that's it. The quest is over. There's no hope for any of us... unless...

Embrace your enemy

You are you.

You will never be anything but you- albeit an altered (preferably grown) version. And you are the key to your story. No-one sees the world quite like you do. No-one can draw on exactly the same experiences or perceptions. And no-one can put all that together on the page the same way you can.

So why do you need to change? Here and now?

Here's the simple conclusion to my discovery... YOU DON'T.

Instead, embrace your enemy. Sit your perfection monster down and negotiate. Battle it out and create a manifesto for yourself; a way of writing that is truly yours and, more importantly, that will work for you.

What do I mean, embrace the perfection monster? Surely that's counter productive. And it is, if you give your perfection monster all the power. But the striving for perfection is also what makes your work the best it can be. Not to mention, more likely to miss the bin on the way to the agent's desk. So build in the perfect and imperfect to your writing routine.

Finding your own path

"A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper."

E B White

If you wait for the perfect time to write, it'll never happen. So do what you can. When you can. Maybe you only have time to jot down a few character notes or a ten minute setting description. If you have longer, perhaps you can set up a scene or a dialogue to complete when conditions are better (but not perfect).

Same goes for perfect writing space, conditions, mindset and draft. Waiting or demanding perfection straight away, as and when you want it, is abhuman (even AI can't get perfection first time but that's a whole different blog post). So you set yourself rules you can keep. Not rules imposed by others (although you might nick a few of the inspired ones).

For example:

• You can't write a scene because every sentence you write is useless. In fact, toddler tyrant could probably write better.

  • You make a rule to write notes for ten minutes to come back to the following day.

  • Or you do a twenty minute (completely unrelated) writing sprint and if you still can't write you come back tomorrow.

• You can't get in the headspace (or physical space) to write. Your brain is wired and you're thinking about the to-do list that's a mile long and waiting for you in the kitchen.

  • The rule for these situations, perhaps, is to read. Make a cup of tea and read a book for 15 minutes that's purposely meant to inspire.

  • You put on your writing (or specific novel) playlist and you listen to the specific tracks that will help with that scene.

  • If implementing the rule doesn't work... come back tomorrow.

You see? You accede your time, territory and writing mindset when - and because- you have to. But you don't allow the perfection monster free reign over your writing. Less metaphorically, you work with what you've got. You do what you can and you win, step by step, your way. At least you're writing.

Because the thing about eradicating perfection and magically morphing into the 'perfect writer' is that you never will be. Instead, you will be a frustrated mess, beating yourself up for not being more disciplined or invested. And that means the perfection monster's won.

So embrace your perfection monster. More importantly, embrace (and trust) you. You started writing because you enjoy it. So the less perfect writing is- the more you it is, the better. And the less perfectionist pressure you put on, well, everything, the more enjoyable the writing becomes... the more you find you want (and find) time, space, etc to do it... and the easier it becomes. Eg. you grow as a writer. You become your own hero and the perfection monster is, well, maybe not vanquished, but irrevocably weakened.

And Orwrite is here to battle perfection with you. To embrace you for the writer you are and to create in a space that allows you to tread the path to publication (or film etc...) in an understanding and supportive community, not in isolation. Because, when the quest feels overwhelming, remember... you'll never write alone.