The Temptation of Perfection

Two sides. One coin. A simple dilemma.

When working on a project, it’s important to get things right. We all know that, but think of your initial creation as a bad actress. She may moan and groan, stay up too late, do bad things, but in the morning, she’ll throw on her make up, and nail her lines. The iterative drafts of your work are where you put on the make up. You rehearse. You make things right.

Often, we are paralyzed by perfection. We feel we must nail every line properly from the get go. Certainly, there are days where such occurrences are commonplace, and the more you write, the more often those golden moments arise, but here’s a little secret for you. Those moments arise because we both improve our craft and we’re able to shut off those little voices in our head telling us “this way lies madness” or second guesses us. The first draft is just that. It’s the time to gush, moan and groan, stay up late, and do bad things. Just remember to fix your makeup in the morning.

Until next time, I bid you, dear reader, adieu!