1 It’s easier to start working on something, because you go in knowing it’s not going to be great.
2. You have more fun doing your work.
3. You give yourself permission to take more creative risks.
4. You self-edit less obsessively.
5. And the edits you do make genuinely make the story better.
6. You stop thinking things like, “I’m such a terrible writer!”
7. But you’re also able to accept the fact that everyone writes terrible first drafts.
8. You stop comparing your work to other writers’ work.
9. And you stop comparing your accomplishments (or lack thereof) to theirs.
10. You spend more time actually writing.
11. And you spend less time worrying about little things that really don’t matter yet.
12. You learn to look at a first draft differently.
13. You face less fear that people will judge you … because they may never even see your first draft.
14. You finish writing things you start.
15. And you actually feel like you might be able to go back in and make them better someday.
Are you a perfectionist? Writing imperfectly is possible -- here's how.
On Learning to Be Happy with Your Imperfect Draft
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Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is a staff writer with The Cheat Sheet, a freelance editor and writer, and a 10-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food and nerdy things.
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