I think also the difference between the people this advice works for and me is that they find the idea that they can make writing that's "bad" or "shitty" to be freeing, while for I find that constricting.
I'm reading this with a lot of interest because I am someone who genuinely falls into the 'freeing' side of this.
Like, I've been fortunate enough to have had moments where the prose just flows. I need minimal editing, most of it comes out lovely, and I can bang out most of a fic in one sitting. Those moments are wonderful and feel incredibly relaxing when I'm in that flow state.
But most of the time, it's...not. It's work. It's enjoyable work, but it's still work.
Allowing myself to fail means that I can just focus on the work of it, the sort of tongue-in-cheek attitude that 'yeah, it's gonna be shitty, but that's okay, I can pick it over later' instead of holding out for those golden moments where it feels stunningly easy.
Anyways. I do the same thing with outlines (I love bullet points! And organized scenes! And little notes about key bits of dialogue and specific images or metaphors I want to use in the prose!) and having a good outline definitely helps lead towards a better first draft, but a first draft is, by its very nature, the 'first' and therefore weakest version of whatever you want the final project to look like. I don't consider my outlines to be first drafts, no matter how detailed, because I think I hold a mental block on calling anything with bullet points a 'first draft.'
Obviously, YMMV with all kinds of things in life. Writing advice isn't any different. Just use what works for you and kick aside what doesn't.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2019-07-02 03:52 pm (UTC)I'm reading this with a lot of interest because I am someone who genuinely falls into the 'freeing' side of this.
Like, I've been fortunate enough to have had moments where the prose just flows. I need minimal editing, most of it comes out lovely, and I can bang out most of a fic in one sitting. Those moments are wonderful and feel incredibly relaxing when I'm in that flow state.
But most of the time, it's...not. It's work. It's enjoyable work, but it's still work.
Allowing myself to fail means that I can just focus on the work of it, the sort of tongue-in-cheek attitude that 'yeah, it's gonna be shitty, but that's okay, I can pick it over later' instead of holding out for those golden moments where it feels stunningly easy.
Anyways. I do the same thing with outlines (I love bullet points! And organized scenes! And little notes about key bits of dialogue and specific images or metaphors I want to use in the prose!) and having a good outline definitely helps lead towards a better first draft, but a first draft is, by its very nature, the 'first' and therefore weakest version of whatever you want the final project to look like. I don't consider my outlines to be first drafts, no matter how detailed, because I think I hold a mental block on calling anything with bullet points a 'first draft.'
Obviously, YMMV with all kinds of things in life. Writing advice isn't any different. Just use what works for you and kick aside what doesn't.
Thank you for the post, it made me think!