Sep 27, 20232 min read

Perfection? Fuggedaboutit!

Don't worry about perfection in writing. Instead, focus on the craft.

Title card with perfection quote by Vince Lombardi.

I recently listened to an episode of NPR's 1A featuring an interview with carpenter Mark Ellison. He discussed all things woodworking, including special pieces he creates for New Yorkers.

During the conversation, the host introduced the topic of perfection in creation. While Ellison maintains high standards for his own projects, he said there's no such thing as perfect.

Attention those of you on the 150th edit of your first novel: Did you read those last words?

An Unattainable Goal

The artist Salvador Dali struck the small metal spike on its flat surface when he spoke on the topic:

Have no fear of perfection -- you'll never reach it.

Now, that's not to say you should do shoddy work. Editing is still necessary to tighten your story, clean the structure, and correct spelling errors. Nevertheless, you shouldn't do this a dozen times. Eventually, the words will meld into blogs of nothingness. Then, when you publish the work, you'll notice you used "wear" instead of "where" in the first sentence of the first paragraph of the first chapter.

You're head will most likely explode at this discovery.

The Weight of Perfection

An image of "Little Red Riding Rabbit" — Warner Brothers, 1944

The goal of perfection weighs you down. Instead of seeing the story as a whole, you focus on the minutiae. Rather than improving, your story starts to drown in internal debates about conjunctions and the number of sentences per paragraph.

However, the figurative poundage weighing down your shoulders evaporates when you forego perfection. Once removed, you can focus on the story's enjoyment and how it plays out for the reader.

Additionally, erasing and redoing sentences as you create no longer haunts every keyboard stroke. You start writing and continue without stopping, except to go to the bathroom. Then again, maybe you bring your laptop into the bathroom. Ew!

You add everything possible into the story. Only when you reach "The End" after 675 pages do you breathe, do something else, and return to the manuscript for your first round edits. Go with at least two more to ensure the story has amazing flow and powerful characterizations.

The Caveat

There's a caveat to these feelings about perfection. They only apply to creativity. If you manufacture a car, rocket, or similar equipment, it better be as darn perfect as possible. There's no option to miss a screw and go, "Oh, well, it's almost as good as it needs to be." I apologize to those who assemble objects that cause death and destruction if not properly constructed. You don't get a pass on this one.