We’ve heard it all, haven’t we, Gentle Reader?
The BICHOKs, the JUST WRITEs, the On and Ons, the list of advice itself goes on, and on.
But if we think through all of the writing advice that we’ve been given, we know when we’re failing to follow along. We also know that FAILING is never a word we want to use.
Failing. That’s how I’ve come to think of it, this lack of creative writing. I know–believe me, Friends, I know!–that I need to get Back On A Schedule. If I could just write, every day, at the same time a day, then I would be back in the saddle, as it were.
But then I realize, I have been writing: academically, personally, even blogging. All of these add up to writing and I tend to dismiss them as Not Good Enough.
Why aren’t they good enough? Are they not productive? Are they not craft? Do I not get up every morning, go through every day, Writing? I do! Of course I do! But I don’t “count it.” It’s not “good enough.”
What’s good enough to be considered writing? For me, it’s prose that needs a bare amount of revision. Prose that is almost perfect–leading to a full draft. Prose that is part of a consistent push forward in a project. Prose that is consistent.
But I know–believe me, I know–that writing is sloppy. I’ve stopped giving myself permission to have the shitty first draft. Or even, the shitty part of the random piece of something that may never be anything draft. And I need permission to do that again.
The Postmodern Bluestocking 
I used to agonise over the first draft. Now I know that I just need to get a skeleton of my story down onto the page. Once finished, I can build on that in the next few drafts. Happy writing 🙂
I have broken myself of it, I fear. I used to be all about the crappy first draft, the skeleton of a plot. But now, I’m far too invested in that perfect first draft! I need to get over it. 🙂
Cheers,
Amy
You can do it 🙂