A CASE AGAINST PERFECTIONISM
Feeling bad about yourself today? Can't quite measure up to those inner voices scolding you for the dust under the bed? Then check out this passage by Anne Lamont, calling perfectionism the "enemy of the people." Read on, and loosen up!
"Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.
Besides perfectionism will ruin your writing., blocking inventiveness and playfullness and life force. Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is being lived. Clutter is wonderfully fertile ground -- you can discover new treasures under all those piles, clean things up, edit things out, fix things, get a grip. Tidiness suggestes that something is as good as it's going to get. Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation, while writing needs to breathe and move."
From Bird by bird, by Anne Lamont. (Pantheon Books, 1994) p. 28-29
"Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.
Besides perfectionism will ruin your writing., blocking inventiveness and playfullness and life force. Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is being lived. Clutter is wonderfully fertile ground -- you can discover new treasures under all those piles, clean things up, edit things out, fix things, get a grip. Tidiness suggestes that something is as good as it's going to get. Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation, while writing needs to breathe and move."
From Bird by bird, by Anne Lamont. (Pantheon Books, 1994) p. 28-29
posted by Nancy | 8:28 AM
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