Permission to Write Badly
October 31st 2010 16:39
"Freed to be rough, my writing actually became smoother. Freed from the demand that it be instantly brilliant, perfect, and clever, my writing became not only smoother but also easier and more clear...If only we could give ourselves permission to write 'badly,' many of us would write very well indeed."
Julia Cameron (in The Right to Write)
Give yourself permission to write badly and you will surprise yourself. If you write badly, it's okay, you are allowed to do that, after all. If you write well, you prove to yourself and your inner editor that you're actually good at this writing lark (well, sometimes, at least - but the times you write well rather than badly will increase with practice). It's what lies at the core of NaNoWriMo, the whole month is one big bad writing fest.
Write, write badly (and occasionally, well), keep pounding out words until you reach 50k and The End and remember that, with a few weeks distance between yourself and finishing the first draft, you can go back and edit your badly-written prose:
"The first draft is just you telling yourself the story."
Terry Pratchett
Julia Cameron (in The Right to Write)
Give yourself permission to write badly and you will surprise yourself. If you write badly, it's okay, you are allowed to do that, after all. If you write well, you prove to yourself and your inner editor that you're actually good at this writing lark (well, sometimes, at least - but the times you write well rather than badly will increase with practice). It's what lies at the core of NaNoWriMo, the whole month is one big bad writing fest.
Write, write badly (and occasionally, well), keep pounding out words until you reach 50k and The End and remember that, with a few weeks distance between yourself and finishing the first draft, you can go back and edit your badly-written prose:
"The first draft is just you telling yourself the story."
Terry Pratchett
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