Keeping a journal has never been one of my strongest pursuits. I find it boring talking about myself for an extended period. This year, I wrote blog entries telling the tales about the things I’ve encountered along my writing road. On this writer’s journey, I’ve run into bumps, got stuck in ditches, and sometimes the scenery becomes tedious. The repetition of editing can become monotonous. Computer glitches can become obstacles along the path as tiresome as construction zones. It can leave a person stuck in technical traffic for hours. The best solution to such problems is sometimes to drive a different route. Please fasten your seat belts and prepare for this new stage on my writing journey. Therefore, I titled this post Entry 321: It Isn’t About Perfection.
Remember, editing is an important part of the writing process. Editing is where the artistry takes place. It’s where a writer thinks with their head to catch mistakes. Editing is the sweet spot where the delete button comes in handy. It’s where the creator decides which words belong to the reader and which ones remain with them.
My morning pages and Entry 321: It Isn’t About Perfection
Drum roll. My word count for the day is 2454. Some might say, “I bet they aren’t good words.” You’d be right. One of the lessons NaNoWriMo has taught me is that the first draft isn’t about Perfection. The story might be messy and full of grammatical mistakes, but at least the words have gone from my head onto the computer screen.
What I am currently reading and Entry 321: It Isn’t About Perfection.
Moving through the pages of Martha Hall-Kelly’s Lilac Girls slowly. Caroline learns that Paul is in a French concentration camp. Kasia is a part of a medical experiment. Herta is the doctor operating on her leg to study how infection on the battlefield is best treated. They operate on the victim’s leg and infect them as part of the study.
The music I selected today and Entry 321: It Isn’t About Perfection
I don’t know why I put an old Green Day CD on this morning. This Punk band is interesting.
The stuff going on in my life at the moment and Entry 321: It Isn’t About Perfection.
(This is the part that might get boring. You can skip it if you want.)
The pipe in the basement didn’t get fixed. There were complications because there always has to be a complication. We are still without water for the second day. Rooster and I have still managed to get work done, and we’ve been to the gym to walk. I hope the issue is resolved today. It took a week to solve the problem the last time something like this happened. We’re living like we are on a camping trip. It couldn’t have come at a worse time because of NaNoWriMo.
Who is Molly Shea?
Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh. To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.
Be sure to follow Molly on Twitter!
What I Learned from Participating in NaNoWriMo #4
I started participating in NaNoWriMo in 2014 because of a dare. Someone was planning to try the 50,000 words in a month challenge and dared me to participate. I didn’t think the word count was achievable, but I also thought I had nothing to lose if I tried. I barely made it over the finish…
The Heart Thief
In high school, I had a young teacher straight out of college. She came up with the idea to have us study song lyrics as modern poetry. We’d pick the words of a song and analyze what the songwriter was trying to say. I thought it was a cool thing to do at the time.…
Entry 339: My Brain Needed a Rest
Keeping a journal has never been one of my strongest pursuits. I find it boring talking about myself for an extended period. This year, I wrote blog entries telling the tales about the things I’ve encountered along my writing road. On this writer’s journey, I’ve run into bumps and got stuck in ditches, and sometimes…
My daughter is an artist and she once said to me, “It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to get done!” I think that’s perfect advice for a first draft. Good luck with NaNoWriMo
Good words of wisdom from your daughter 🙂
Thank you. Your daughter is right.
I think that’s a healthy lesson! Not just with NaNoWriMo, but with first drafts of any creation. The words, paint, music, whatever need to get out. They can be revised and polished later. Best wishes as you continue with NaNoWriMo!
Thank you.