Perfectionism is a curse.

[Scaver]

You know, i know, everybody knows. But can't stop it, right? Damn! I really struggle with this a lot. Man, the fact that i am afraid of writing bad words make me feel like shit. It's just like procrastination. Similar, really.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

its a curse because you're a fallible being trying to imitate a perfect existence such as myself and find yourself lacking. To me, perfection is a mere day out of my week. I piss excellence like gold is yellow

 

[Corty]

I was afraid of writing in English as it is not my first language. Then I remembered people read MTL stuff and suggest it to others without a second thought. So I knew I am going to be fine in the long run.

 

[LotsChrono]

I was afraid of writing in English as it is not my first language. Then I remembered people read MTL stuff and suggest it to others without a second thought. So I knew I am going to be fine in the long run.

This is the way. There is solace in knowing that, no matter how shit you may think you write, people will read so long as the story is good.

It’s the same concept with even visual mediu. No one would say the art for the original One Piece or Mob Psycho manga is exceptional. But they work. They get the job done to tell moving stories.

At the end of the day, everything is on the story itself.

 

[lambenttyto]

We all speak differently, which means we write differently. So even the perfect sentence will be looked at (by a person looking for issues) as being imperfect. And this applies to story taste as well. So you're fighting an imaginary battle that doesn't even exist.

Once you understand that the imperfections give your writing the character it needs to make it "you," then nothing can stop you from writing.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

You know, i know, everybody knows. But can't stop it, right? Damn! I really struggle with this a lot. Man, the fact that i am afraid of writing bad words make me feel like shit. It's just like procrastination. Similar, really.

I just write for racism’s sake that’s what keeps me going.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

Eh, I was a former perfectionist. However, I realized that nothing will happen to my career/life if I keep on waiting for the time I'll become 'perfect'. Besides, I can't get there if I don't develop my writing skills first. And to develop it, I have to write, send it outside and receive feedback.

 

[Scaver]

its a curse because you're a fallible being trying to imitate a perfect existence such as myself and find yourself lacking. To me, perfection is a mere day out of my week. I piss excellence like gold is yellow

Shut it retard.

We all speak differently, which means we write differently. So even the perfect sentence will be looked at (by a person looking for issues) as being imperfect. And this applies to story taste as well. So you're fighting an imaginary battle that doesn't even exist.

Once you understand that the imperfections give your writing the character it needs to make it "you," then nothing can stop you from writing.

Yeah, when i read a something written worse than mine, then i feel like 'Oh mine's not that bad' but when its about reading the top of the game, the same feeling doesn't exist.

This is the way. There is solace in knowing that, no matter how shit you may think you write, people will read so long as the story is good.

It’s the same concept with even visual mediu. No one would say the art for the original One Piece or Mob Psycho manga is exceptional. But they work. They get the job done to tell moving stories.

At the end of the day, everything is on the story itself.

Yep, waiting for that realization to hit. I mean come from heart.

I was afraid of writing in English as it is not my first language. Then I remembered people read MTL stuff and suggest it to others without a second thought. So I knew I am going to be fine in the long run.

Thing is i would never aim for that. If you aim for low then, in general chances are you aren't gonna acheive more than that. I prefer aiming for the ceiling. Even if i feel shit doing so.

Eh, I was a former perfectionist. However, I realized that nothing will happen to my career/life if I keep on waiting for the time I'll become 'perfect'. Besides, I can't get there if I don't develop my writing skills first. And to develop it, I have to write, send it outside and receive feedback.

I personally think that without a little bit of healthy perfectionism you aren't gonna improve. So there is that.

 

[Lloyd]

I just write for racism’s sake that’s what keeps me going.

I write for black and transgender bodies' sake. That's what keeps me going.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

The Jack Rider series got published so it's obvious that even good writing isn't necessary for a something to be monetarily successful. Why bother with it being perfect? Yeah, you should aim for perfection but there comes a point where you've done enough. Think of it this way, you can make a book good by it's 7th draft depending on your skill but stopping there is okay because a 8th draft would probably only make it %10 better. Would it really be worth it to make it that small percentage better or would it be better to publish it?

 

[CupcakeNinja]

Shut it retard.

Yeah, when i read a something written worse than mine, then i feel like 'Oh mine's not that bad' but when its about reading the top of the game, the same feeling doesn't exist.

Yep, waiting for that realization to hit. I mean come from heart.

Thing is i would never aim for that. If you aim for low then, in general chances are you aren't gonna acheive more than that. I prefer aiming for the ceiling. Even if i feel shit doing so.


I personally think that without a little bit of healthy perfectionism you aren't gonna improve. So there is that.

jealousy doesn't become you, bitch

 

[Tremaglif]

Thing is i would never aim for that. If you aim for low then, in general chances are you aren't gonna acheive more than that. I prefer aiming for the ceiling. Even if i feel shit doing so.


I personally think that without a little bit of healthy perfectionism you aren't gonna improve. So there is that.

What they meant was you need to at least put some effort to make your sense of perfectionism justified. At the very least you must get some ground to see where you need to perfect your craft or when you find it perfect---according to you.

You know, i know, everybody knows. But can't stop it, right? Damn! I really struggle with this a lot. Man, the fact that i am afraid of writing bad words make me feel like shit. It's just like procrastination. Similar, really.

Remember, not doing something because of a potential consequence is the worst form of perfectionism. Writing usually doesn't kill you. Unless seeing your works being shit affects your psyche, then just do it.

If only your fear was fearing someone would see your bad writing, then I can at least give the simplest solution: just don't let other people read your shit writings. Unfortunately, that's not the case. so:

Yep, waiting for that realization to hit. I mean come from heart.

This might sound cliche, but what made me went away from perfectionism is the "it's the progress that matters," phrase. If you dwelt on your result too much, then I'm sorry, no amount of your perfectionism can help you to improve. I'd been in that phase. For a few years I procrastinated so much because I also feared my potential shitty result. I only did some token efforts just to make me feel better or to get that sense of 'at least I tried'. But then I realized I never improved much in my writing. Obvious, because I didn't write that much, and also that I never tried seriously because I feared that my effort will not be proportional to its quality.

Don't use your current result as a justification why you should procrastinate. Rather, use them as samples how to improve your craft.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Give up writing and become an editor.

 

[RavenRunes]

Same, I spend hours 'perfecting' scenes only to ditch them down the line because they don't fit the story (aka I changed my mind about what the story's about). I KNOW I need to 'just write'. But it's retraining myself to do it, to just bash the story down in all its cringeworthy amateur horrifics.
If you're spending too much time and effort crafting sentences, you're not crafting a story. I know this, I do know this....and yet...

 

[AiLovesToGrow]

Imposter Syndrome has been kicking my butt for the last 2 months and I really want to get this clown porn commission finished before the end of the year!

 

[bulmabriefs144]

I finished Town of Winter in record time (probably would have qualified for the writing contest where you finish in a month) because I focused of progressing the story, not on having everything just so.

It took five years to write Oracle of Tao, and even with multiple edits, I still didn't catch all errors.

This is a pretty good demonstration on how perfectionism and procrastination affect progress in books.