Embrace the Suck
Ken calls it “Embrace the Draft“, I am less nice about it. I call it “Embrace the Suck“, and the concept is to push past your natural tendency to over-criticize your efforts and stop writing. Instead of stopping, push onward. Finish the novel. Starting over is not going to make you a better writer. Doing what you said—when you said you would do it by—will.
A finished pile of crap is a monumental milestone. In a direct crap-to-crap comparison, the completed crap is better than your only a single chapter crap.
I’m overexaggerating, of course. Your work is not crap. Even if it is, the learning process of finishing a manuscript cannot be denied. Now you can go back and polish that sucker! Whatever you do, don’t. Stop. Writing.
A page written is far better than a page merely thought about.
I’m embracing the suck every day.
November 1, 2008 at 1:55 am
Hey–who are you to say my work isn’t crap?
Just kidding.
And whoo! It’s November. Are you NaNoing it? Or just editing and trying to progress on your WIP as well? I’ve got to get cracking on my pixies.
November 1, 2008 at 8:47 am
Ken: Yesterday I was more wallowing than embracing. Heuh.
Kiersten, I do not do NaNoing. I have already spent a month writing on the average 3000 words a day.
I commend efforts in this area, however. Many people say they are going to do something, and then not do it or do not do it by the time they said they would.
I know of this all too well in my line of work.
November 1, 2008 at 9:23 am
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