Does Practice Make Perfect in Writing?

It depends on your mindset

Dear storytellers,

As writers we can sometimes feel the need to be perfect immediately. We allow ourselves to get bogged down with unnecessary thoughts that only stop us from starting our goals, let alone even completing them.

You’ve heard it time and time again, you may have even said it yourself: “well I’m a perfectionist so…. ‘insert excuse here.’

You and I are both smarter than that. We have watched enough TED Talks by now to know that claiming to be a perfectionist is just a device a lot of people use as an excuse to procrastinate further.

Sometimes it’s an excuse not to publish your work because it’s not ready to be seen by others yet; other times it’s an excuse not to start at all.

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

We start to doubt our own capabilities because we’re not skilled enough to write the story we want to tell, but how can we ever be if we’re not writing?

Psyching yourself out because it’ll never be as good as it is in your head on the page is a catch-22. If you don’t attempt it you’ll just prove yourself right and never achieve the growth you need as a writer to tell the caliber of story you want to tell.

I once had a professor tell my class, “practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” That may be all well and good in school. But in storytelling that isn’t the case.

There are great stories and good stories. But there isn’t one perfect way to tell a story. You have to practice writing until you write the way you want, but perfection is unattainable.

Stop making it the goal. It’s a destination you will never reach. As cheesy and infuriating as it sounds, storytelling is about the journey (don’t think about it too hard or it gets too meta). Your goal should be to start and do it continuously.

Another thing we do is think how writing can enrich our lives instead of how our lives can enrich our writing.

I’m not saying you can’t have both. But one of the reasons we often feel the need for our writing to already be at an acceptable professional level is because of all the good that can come from it. It’s almost like, why bother trying if I’m not getting paid for this yet or it’s not immediately taking me to the places I want to be.

Another approach is to take the time to just enjoy honing your craft. If you put in the work, you’ll reach every height you’re meant to.

The worst excuse of all is “Well I’m not a real writer anyway so it doesn’t matter.”

Remember you are a real writer when you decide to be one. You are a storyteller when you decide to be one, whether you’re writing articles, screenplays, novels, or short stories.

But that means you have to go for it. You have to write! If you are writing, you are not trying to become a writer, you already are one.

“No! Try not! Do or do not, There is no try.”

-Master Yoda Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

via GIPHY

I’m guilty of all these things. So I’m using this post as a reminder to keep going. Even if at first that only means writing about the stories I read, watch, or listen to. I hope you’ll be along for the ride.

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