If Second Guessing Were An Olympic Event

. . .I'd have a zillion gold medals.

We want to make our story "the best it can be". What kind of writer would we be if we sent our stories out half-dressed, looking like Jakey Lou? Just a few more tweaks over the next several months, and we could have that baby looking perfect.

Unfortunately, that story will never be perfect. We grow and learn as we write, so a story that we've made close to perfect will probably make us wince a bit when we go back later and see just how far we've come as a writer.

But, even if that story was absolutely flawless, earning a top score from Simon Cowell himself, we wouldn't see it that way. The curse of a vivid imagination is that we can always spot things that are wrong, or that could be improved, or if we moved this word here, and took out that scene there. . .

The story never has a chance to leave the house half-dressed, because we've convinced ourselves it is naked, with something gross stuck in its teeth, and if we let it out into the world like that, everyone will make fun of our precious baby.

I fall into this trap too. Today it feels like my brain is yelling, "Ack! Get away from the keyboard before you scare away all the words." I've deleted the last sentence at least three times. Not only am I second guessing, I'm triple guessing. (That's an overachiever for you.)

But this isn't the only writing project on my plate. I want to finish this blog post so that I can move on to some revisions, and also get back to the drafting on another WIP, and then work on a long line of things that have been waiting (semi) patiently for my attention.

So how do we get ourselves out of this endless cycle of writing, perfecting, and second guessing?

I remind myself that I don't want just one piece of work that is utterly flawless. I want a body of work, lots of stories and blog posts that are hopefully excellent.

Not one. A ton.

The way to achieve that is to write more stuff--different stuff--not the same stuff over and over. I stretch my skills with each new project, and each type of writing, because it exercises different writing muscles. If I keep reworking the same story, it would be like lifting barbells all the time, resulting in perfect Popeye-sized forearms, but spindly toothpick legs.

I also let second guessing work in my favor. Some days I'm convinced the words in the manuscript are deliberately playing hide-and-seek, or they play musical chairs when I close the laptop. Naturally that makes me want to chuck my manuscript into the fireplace, but I don't. Because when I read that crazy bit of writing a day or so later. . .it has been magically transformed into something delightful.

So try not to be hampered by the trap of perfectionism. Give yourself a chance to explore, and expand, your writing. Use second guessing to continuously craft better work, but with future projects. Lots of them.

That's the gold medal you're really after.

Comments

[Melissa]

It's taken me a while to believe in the benefits of exercising different writing muscles, but I'm coming around. Maybe my worries get the best of me because I've got Popeye arms but my legs are too spindly to run away. LOL! What an image. :)

There's the perfectionism worry, but I also worry about starting any new writing projects because I think I will never finish the ones already on my plate. That's the big no-no. It doesn't matter that I've been playing with the project on the plate just like a child who has to finish eating her peas.

I remember that stubborn child who thought of a lot of things you can do with peas. Build a pyramid, arrange them in a "HELP" sign, or finally mash them up. And who wants to eat cold, mashed up peas?

Reworking the same story can feel a lot like the stages of "pushing around the peas on my plate." I don't even know how it happens because the story starts out with something lot more appealing than peas. It was strawberry shortcake. :) Honest.

But it's nice to find out working on whatever something else it is that still feels like strawberry shortcake, isn't giving up or mean I'll leave everything I've ever written in a state of mashed peas. You're right, somehow the work I second guessed looks a lot better after excercising other muscles.

[Quantum]

When you are the author, all the characters and scenes are in your head already, so that re-reading gives you a different perspective to the average customer who is only going to read the book once.

Perfectionist polishing is understandable as you want the product to be the best you can produce; but over-polishing can remove the feel of spontaneity which can sometimes make a book sparkle.

If you were ever a girl guide (scout in my case!) you may remember sitting round a camp fire listening to stories. The best books can be a bit like that. The spontaneity of the speaker, who may improvise to cover mistakes, is all important. If he read from a polished prepared script it would lose that quality and not be nearly as much fun!

Melissa, I'm all for leaving the cold mashed peas and moving straight to desert (love strawberry shortcake!). Could you leave a link to your web site please? I would like to see what else is cooking!

[Melissa]

Q, not much is cooking right now as I'm spending most of my time memorizing parasites for my class. It's a unique way of making the second-guessed stories look very appealing! LOL But I try to do a blog post once a week or two...
http://everythingofinteresttoaromancewriter.blogspot.com/

[Donna Cummings]

I love the great conversation you two have been having while I was gone! And I'd thought about putting Melissa in charge of the cooking, until she mentioned the parasites. LOL

And I understand completely what you mean about the worry you'll never finish something. I think sometimes it's good to switch to a different project, because it sparks something in the brain, or makes the other project jealous -- something happens, I'm not sure exactly what! But I can separate my brain so I can work on a couple completely different things. I get excited about both of them, so I know I won't completely abandon them (and I won't be forced to push peas around my plate either. LOL)

[Donna Cummings]

Q, I agree wholeheartedly with your point about over-polishing a story and then all the sparkle is gone. I've worried about that too (naturally! I worry about everything. LOL) I think it's good to remember, though, that the goal is to captivate a reader and enchant them. It's like a live performance, in a way, rather than a perfectly rehearsed, perfectly performed program. (Look at all those "p's". LOL)