Chasing Perfection

I’ve been hesitant to write new blog posts. A part of the reason is the time crunch. Between a full-time job and several other projects I’m working on, blogging sometimes takes a back seat.

But if I was being really honest with myself, really honest, I’d admit that a lot of times I don’t write because I’m afraid that what I write won’t be perfect. Of course I mean grammatically and syntactically, but it goes deeper than that. My fear goes deeper.  I fear being imperfect from my core. I’m afraid that the heart of what I’m trying to say will never really get across. I’m afraid that I’m a fraud. A writer who somehow hasn’t earned the right to write.

Some of that is the thief of comparison. I read other writers and it feels effortless. It feels flawless. I get exactly what they’re trying to say because they’ve said it perfectly. And I tell myself “you will never write like that.”

So I end up chasing perfection. And chasing perfection is a wicked game of tag. You’re always IT, so you’re always running. It’s exhausting – mentally and physically.

So I’ve decided to save the chase for my fiction writing. I’ll edit my fiction to within an inch of its life, but this blog is dedicated to the imperfect writer in all of us, starting with me.