This morning Kris talks about writers, writing, listening to critics, workshops, and trying to write a perfect story. Mostly trying to write a perfect story.
As I have said a bunch of times here, there is no such thing as a perfect story, and never will be. And on the publishing side, there is no such thing as a perfect cover or a perfect copyedit or whatever. Never happens.
So go read Kris’s new post today. Great advice to those of you who feel a story must be written and rewritten and rewritten to make perfect.
One of her best posts and worth the time to go read.
And read the comments as well. She’s just getting them approved as I type this and some of them are pretty good. Especially from the longer-term professional writers.
http://kriswrites.com/2012/06/27/the-business-rusch-perfection/
(I will have a new article up later tonight about pricing books in a vacuum. With math.)
I always knew this, and yet it’s only this summer, when I started writing a serial for the blog, when I learned the utter joys of writing to deadline rather than to perfection.
It forces me to be inventive and creative. I’ve noticed it especially in the art.
But, you know, I think what it really makes you do is freaking commit. To actually just make up your mind. An awful lot of rewriting is really just the same as standing in front of the refrigerator, trying to decide what to eat. “The bologna looks good, but oh, I do feel like tuna. Oh, but I’d have to chop celery. Maybe grilled cheese. Wait, is that a leftover brownie? No, I’m on a diet. I can’t have brownies for lunch….”
If you have a deadline, you have to decide NOW. That’s the main difference really.
(Ironically, I think that can be one of the benefits of a critique group — not the criticism, but the fact that you have to produce something for people to read on time.)
‘with math’.
Goddamn I love this blog!
As usual, she hit another home run! Great post!