Lessi Varaveti!
If you're a writer, you likely have encountered this problem: wanting to write, but being afraid of it not being perfect. Well, look at it this way.
Say you have a child of your own, or a nephew or niece, or a little kiddo that you interact with often. They draw you a picture, and it's all scribbly and not technical and completely inaccurate. Do you tell them that? Of course not! They're learning how to draw, and they made you something out of their affection for you. We can't look at that and judge it, because we know they're just getting started.
So why can't we have that attitude towards ourselves? Yeah, your first draft of a short story is going to be simple (and probably terrible, when you read it eight years later) but you have to start somewhere. Embrace the chaos. Write knowing that you're filling in an empty notebook with something that will improve over time.
Sculptors and potters take raw material and shape it into something beautiful. As writers, we're doing that with words. It's harder and takes longer than creating a porcelain bowl, but it has to start with the raw materials.
I love challenging myself to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Yes, the challenge is insane! But it gets me started, and keeps me going. I have a month full of writing, and a community of people who're also writing a book. Finishing the draft at all is a huge accomplishment because you have more than you started with, and now you have the raw materials to reshape and play with.
If you struggle with anxiety like me, tell yourself that the first draft is supposed to be messy. It doesn't have to be linear, it doesn't have to make sense, but it has to give you something to play with later. That's all.
As we go into the weekend, for you writers: happy writing, play with the chaos! And if you're not a writer, whatever creative endeavors make you happy, remember that it doesn't have to be perfect.
💜💜💜
Love, Viv
(and her cute little dragons who believe in you!)
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