"If one of the characters in my first draft wants to say, "Well, so what, Mr. Poopy Pants?" you let her. No one is going to see it." Anne Lamott
One of the recommendations about writing that I have fully embraced is what writer Anne Lamott refers to as the "shitty first draft." It is that wonderful free zone when I just write without editing...just write to get the bare bones of the story out and on the page so that I can look at it later and see what works and what doesn't.
It is not ALWAYS easy for me to do this...but I am getting better at it. I have been a perfectionist from birth, I think. When I sang - it had to be the best...when I did public speaking - it had to be the best....even when I started doing art - I studied and studied and read every book and tried to make what I was creating be the best example of the technique I was learning. At some point I realized that even though I could do these things well (not necessarily great) - I was not enjoying any of them. And of lot of my life was tied up in simply trying too hard.
With age comes wisdom...at least someone wise once said that. It think it is true. All the things that I thought were so important in my youth have slipped away unnoticed somewhere - and what is left is the ability to find an appreciated awareness in each moment. Bringing this to my writing is what creates the joy. I write because I want to...and maybe, after several drafts of a story, I can produce something that someone else will enjoy reading.
Until then, Mr. Poopy Pants, shitty first drafts are reasons for celebration!
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