If you want an excercise in humility, submit a manuscript for an editorial review. I’ve learned to laugh at the things that I leave off the page -as well as the things that show up (often with odd typos). As much as I try to get things ‘perfect’, errors (making them and correcting them) are simply part of life as a writer.
“Perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.” -Angelique Arnauld
We must give our best effort to any writing project. But we must also remember that lovely finished book comes in stages. From the whisper of an idea, growing through each page, each change and revision until it is as close to perfect as we can make it.
That is taking the ordinary – the unassuming process of writing – and making it into something extraordinary.
Even if your primary writing habit is all about your journal, you can unearth the extraordinary from those pages and unveil peace and purpose from your most private thoughts. During a project writers often become so familiar with the words and message that it’s easy to overlook errors or doubt that what is on the page is of any interest or worth to a reader. Being close to the work, you can fall into the trap of undervaluing your content and get discouraged that your work doesn’t measure up.
Trust me, most of the authors you admire have been in the same boat. Probably as recently as the last time they sat down to wirte.
Give yourself time to practice, trust, and appreciate that who you are and what you want to write is already a type of perfection – an extraordinary version of ordinary things – you just need to let that pour out on the page.
Live the writing adventure!
18Apr2018
