The impulse is to judge, and then to correct. Don’t do that, do this. Or at the very least, Don’t do that.
Keep writing.
There is the (I hope it is apocryphal and, sadly, know better) story of Galway Kinnell working all morning to take a comma out of a poem, then returning the next, working again all morning, and putting it back in—a sort of “for want of a nail, the war was lost” mentality. While I see the value in such a granular vision—yes, yes, as Twain. wrote, “Th difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter–’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning”—does every comma need to be examined, interrogated, and tried?
Keep writing.
As a teacher, I struggle with two impulses: fix everything, and encourage my students to keep writing. I teach younger students, and while, yes, their writing has flaws, mainly they are flaws of omission (not enough detail, not enough focus, not enough development, not enough). More is a welcome problem. So, I suggest, add details, organize, and:
Keep writing.
As a younger writer I had an early teacher who would simply read my stories, and if I was not hitting the mark suggested:
Keep writing.
When I hit the mark, he cheered:
Keep writing.
As I developed, I had a teacher who jotted “No’s” into the margins, and exercised comments in red pen. Fortunately, I was driven and obsessed. I revised and redrafted furiously. At least to start, but as time passed, I began to think that there was no way forward without to web of red ink. Red means stop.
Keep writing.
This creeps into our daily lives as well—the impulse to correct, to impulse toward perfection. We hold up ideals and ignore the working or workable drafts. Or complain when the dishwasher is full, but not packed the way we like it. Or demand, “Turn here!” There are a thousand roads to Mecca. The first steps to Avalon are through impenetrable fog and mist. To find the end of the world, get lost. And yet, afraid of missing something, a voice within us insists: The right way, the right way!
Keep writing.
In the song, “Move On” from Sunday in the Park with George, a vision of Dot sings to George, who is struggling with his work:
Stop worrying it your vision
Is new
Let others make that decision-
They usually do
You keep moving on
Keep writing.
Yes, you know this already. Whether a word, a paragraph, or 2000 words, all that matters is the writing. Fix it later.
Keep writing.
continuoussearch 