by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
My husband, God bless him, is a perfectionist.
I had some pictures that I’d wanted to hang on one of our walls. They’re nice botanical prints.
The problem was that there were six of them. It wasn’t really a problem, except that it meant that my husband wanted to devote a lot of time into getting the pictures hung. You know—measuring the wire on the back of the prints, cutting out tissue paper replicas of the pictures to arrange on the wall, carefully marking up the wall with pencil, using a tape measure to create a grid on the wall…
This is not to say that this is the wrong way to hang pictures. No, it’s the right way. Except that it requires a lot of time—and my husband has very little free time. And I don’t have the patience to hang pictures that way.
My botanical prints sat neatly stacked on the floor for many months…until a few weeks ago when my husband left town for a trip.
While he was gone, I grabbed the hammer, eyeballed the pictures and the spot I wanted them in, and started putting nails in the wall. Ten minutes later, the prints were hung. I think they look pretty good.
Now…are there a bunch of holes in the wall under my pictures where I had to rehang crooked prints? Absolutely. There are also a few holes in the walls between the pictures. Can you tell, looking at the wall, that there are a bunch of little holes in it? Not unless you get really, really close. The overall effect is very nice.
The important thing is just to finish. We shouldn’t let perfectionism keep us from ever finishing a book because we want to get the story or the diction or the voice perfect. If we finish our book, then we can fix any problems or mistakes.
I do know a lot of writers who like to edit as they go and work really well that way. I’d just add that if you do write that way and it’s not going particularly well, consider taking the time to reevaluate your process and see if a different approach might work better for you.
How do you put perfectionism behind you during your first draft?
What a great question!!!!!! I haven’t figured out how to the perfectionist in me to the side when I am writing. Sometimes I just have to set a timer and power through the writing. But that doesn’t make her (my inner critic) shut up when I’m thinking about my first draft, and not writing. I guess the solution is to do more writing.
I think you’re making a good point here. Sometimes the point where we’re most critical of our manuscript is when we’re *not* in front of it…when we’re just thinking about it. When I start feeling that way about my WIP, I just keep saying “I’ll fix it later.” It’s sort of my mantra. :)
I stopped reading my first drafts as I was writing them a long time ago. This way, I don’t see all the mistakes I’m making until I’m done.
I’m like you–I don’t even read what I wrote the day before. Makes me start feeling too critical of my writing, if I reread when I’m drafting.
Elizabeth – It’s so important to do just that, too – to just get the draft done. There’ll be time when the story’s done to fix it. This is a tough lesson for me to keep learning, as I’m a little bit of a perfectionist about things I do. But still, I do try to just let it go. I think what works for me is that I don’t have a lot of writing time. So I make the most of it by just…writing. When it’s done I use that time to revies.
That’s a good reason to let the perfectionism go–lack of time!
I meant …use that time to revise, of course. See what I mean about just writing first? ;-)
I wish I weren’t like that (your husband although he sounds nice and perfect :) because it makes life a little more stressful for me.
I tend to pick and pick over everything including the writing. I need to work on it, being more sane.
Teresa
I’d imagine it would make it really stressful, because it’s so hard to write the ideal that’s in our heads!
I think my *not* being a perfectionist gets me in trouble sometimes. At least my better half *is* one (I guess a case of opposites attracting!)
Oh, Elizabeth, love this analogy. I’m an eyeball it kinda gal and it serves me well. If I get hung up on finding the perfect way to say something or do anything for that matter, I get stalled.
karen
I figure that I’m never going to achieve perfection anyway, so… :)
Perfectionism has never held me back. Oh I am a perfectionist to the core – I’m just lousy at it. You are so right. Get it done, drive that nail, hang the photo and plug the holes later. Great advice.
And, boy, will there be plenty of holes to plug later! Ha!
Wonderful post! I am a perfectionist and I have a terrible time keeping the Internal Editor at bay during the first draft process. No, it does NOT go well or me and I needed this reminder to just finish and THEN edit!
Thanks and have a wonderful weekend,
Jen
My first drafts are really wretched. And my second drafts. And…well, my 3rd are, too. But I always meet my deadlines! Thank goodness for plowing through the thing…
I have a very limited amount of writing time in my day, so I’ve had to teach myself to take a quick glance at what I wrote the day before and then force myself to move forward. Otherwise I’d spend the entire two or three hours editing the previous day’s work and never get anywhere. Let me tell you, it hasn’t been easy.
I’m with you on the picture hanging and the writing, but I do a bit more planning before I bang holes in my walls. LOL
Seriously, I have all paneled walls in my country house and the holes show up more than on plaster where you can fill with a little bit of soap.
You’re good! I wish I had more concern for my walls. :) I think I’ll be very sorry the day we decide to move from this house…
We’ve got drywall. So that’s easier to fix, right? Or not? :)
What a perfect analogy! You hang pictures the same way I do. Those extra holes don’t bother me in the least. Now, if I can only apply that same attitude to my writing.
Sometimes I have characters who change names in the middle of my first draft…and I end up with both names in the manuscript! But it all gets fixed in the end.
Sounds like you’ve got your editing tendencies under control! It’s a struggle, though, isn’t it?
I LOVE your post title, I’d never heard of doing something ’til done before. I LOVE it. When I started my first manuscript, I did struggle with perfectionism from the first word (which I changed countless times) on. I learned that first draft is allowed to be ugly and the trick is to write, not rewrite.
Might be one of those kooky Southernisms…along the lines of “git ‘er done.” :) Shoot for that hideous first draft! You’ve got good company, if you do.
Super analogy, Elizabeth. Point taken.
Thanks for coming by!
Yes! I have a lot of friends that are writers and perfectionists that say they are going to write a book “one day.” I think sometimes perfectionism is more the enemy than lack of time.
I think perfectionism is also a main cause of writer’s block. I always feel so sad when people say they want to write a book one day!
I write my first drafts quickly. Please don’t ask me how revisions and rewrites go.
I laughed out loud at your example. This is exactly how picture hanging goes in our house. I’ve had to learn to stop asking and start pounding nails.
Ha! And my husband politely didn’t say anything about the job I did hanging the pictures. :) I bet the way they’re slightly off gives him a few qualms when he looks at them, though!
I ran into this when drafting my first book years ago. I kept holding off writing the last third of the book or so to revise the rest of it, thinking I couldn’t move on until the beginning and middle parts were perfect. Didn’t have a completed draft for years. I think there were confidence issues at play as well but perfectionism was a big one too. Never doing that again!
A good point–maybe insecurity and perfectionism pair up with each other sometimes. I can see how you could freeze up, wanting the 2 sections to be perfect before moving on.
I actually draft longhand in pen, because then I can’t edit anything, even if I might have wanted to. :-)
That’s a great idea!
I draft straight through as fast as I can. I also hang pictures your way on the tiniest nail I think will hold them. My husband is like yours in the picture-hanging department. And he uses spikes if don’t hide them all.
On reflection, using small nails would have been a good idea…. :) I’ll have to do that next time!
I laughed while reading this – that’s my husband to a “T!” I cringed when we repainted our hallway last year because I knew we’d have to rehang all of my photos and it would take forever. Just get ‘er done!
I’m wondering if this is a peculiar husband affliction. :) Maybe we should be looking for a cure…
I don’t edit as I go, but I am very careful in choosing my words, so it takes a while to finish the first draft. That and I type really, really slow.
I’m going to sign you up for an online typing course, Alex! I’ve heard you mention your typing speed before. We can fix that… :)
I’m curious how your hubby reacted when he came home to find the pictures … and the little holes!
I’m with you – get it done. I don’t mind fixing stuff later on. And I can’t fix a blank page :)
I think we’re pretending the botanical prints miraculously appeared on the wall. :) He hasn’t mentioned the small holes in our walls and I haven’t mentioned the fact that the project was on the back burner for the better part of a year. We’re even!
I make notes as I go along and only rewrite if it’s really major. But I usually don’t even see the flaws and think I’m cranking out a masterpiece! :) Until I look at it later. LOL
Good for you! I think that’s one way of keeping motivated. If we think we’ve written the best thing since sliced bread, we’ll write the darned thing. There’s always time in editing to fix the oops-es.
Sometimes I need to read over previous scenes I’ve written to inject excitement back into the drafting process. When I renew my enthusiasm for the characters and the cool stuff they’ve done so far, it gives me a spark of encouragement to think of more. There’s no way I can just plow through without ever reading anything, because I don’t write chronologically and I need to fill in the gaps. But I need to resist actual editing of the previous work (re-writing, fixing, etc) so I can get on with the draft.
Both my hubby and I are perfectionists, but it usually only takes about ten minutes to hang up pictures. He runs around with a tape measure and the hammer, and I stand back and supervise ;-)
Sometimes I don’t write chronologically, either–but I don’t put it together until the second draft (and, boy, is it usually a mess to put together!)
You’re good to live with another perfectionist!
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Holy cats, and I even deleted my own comment while trying to perfect it! Which only goes to support my theory that Godzilla is my inner editor. My only hope is to write as much as I can then run away before it rises to burn Tokyo.
Ha! Godzilla met his match a couple of times, though, as I remember. Godzilla vs. the T-Rex maybe? Good luck with writing quickly, then running!
My fast rule, with the first and last three chapters I’ll rewrite the first draft three times. This is because I feel that if I don’t start right and don’t finish right, I don’t have a book!
Endings are my personal nightmare. For my beginnings, I’ve just figured out what works best for the stories I write…and then I write very similar beginnings for each of them (always dialogue, always humor, etc.)
Very nice blog…..NEW follower.
I am stopping by from the Top Writing Blog competition.
Just wanted to say hello. This is a great way to find new blogs and visit ones you haven’t visited in a while. :)
Elizabeth – Silver’s Reviews
http://silversolara.blogspot.com
Hi, Elizabeth
I found Nanowrimo excellent for getting the first draft down on the page without editing or trying to be perfect. We all sort of know how that works. But now that I’m working on a new first draft, my perfect self and editing hat insist on joining in. I do like your advice – if it’s not going particularly well … reevaluate your process…
Best wishes
I’ll do bullet point blasts embedded within drafts if revision points pop into my head during the flow of writing. Then the ideas from the list of bullet points are waiting for me when I’m back in that particular neck of the woods.