By Heather Kreke @HKreke

I saw a meme of a picture of a ninety-eight degree angle. It read, “This is a 98° angle… You’re welcome, perfectionists.” The point of the meme was to annoy perfectionists who’d insist upon a 90° angle. Now, I don’t really consider myself a perfectionist (although my husband probably disagrees), but this meme bugged me. It wasn’t straight! It got me thinking about perfectionism in our writing.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “Don’t let your good get in the way of your best.” While that’s good advice, you also can’t let perfectionism get in the way of getting something done.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to edit while I write. I backspace and backspace until I find what I think the perfect word is at that moment. After I’m finally finished, I go over it again. And again. And probably at least another time or two before I let anyone see it. The problem is my process takes forever to actually get anything written, and either I or someone else usually changes it.

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none” inject=”#writing #writingtips #BRMCWC”]Writing at a 98° Angle by @HKreke on @BRMCWC[/tweet_box]

Not only does perfectionism take forever, it robs us of our creativity. It forces us into a mode where we can’t focus on anything except the errors. We forget about the story as a whole and our love for the craft as we toil over every comma and strive to find that perfect word. This can be a frustrating process and frustration does not mix well with creativity.

So how do we go from obsessing over everything to actually getting something written?

The Hot Pen Method

The technique requires us to write/type without worrying about spelling, grammar, or even if it makes sense. We just write. This one is hard for me, because I can’t let go of the urge to backspace in order to correct every little thing I see. Sometimes I’l put a piece of paper over my delete button so I don’t hit it.

Trust Ourselves and Our Editors

When we find ourselves getting too hung up on making things perfect and not actually writing, we need to remember we are going to go back and edit. We are going to edit once, twice, and more, then we will most likely have someone else look it over before we submit it. We need to get something on the page and trust we or our editor will catch our errors.

It’s Never Going to be Perfect

One of the hardest things to accept is no matter how many times we or others look at our work, it won’t be perfect. And that’s okay. Many published books still have typos in them. All we can do is the best we can and not let the urge to be perfect stop us from sending our work out into the world.

How do you overcome the urge to be perfect?

If there’s one thing Heather Kreke believes, it’s that hope belongs—even in the most broken worlds. Her stories blend survival and heartache with a sharp wit that keeps readers laughing—even when the world’s on fire. An award-winning author, writing coach, and editor, she helps other writers bring their stories to life while continuing to build her own. When she’s not writing, she’s likely sipping coffee with cream, cheering on her daughters, or pretending her archery gear is just for ‘research.’ Visit www.heatherkreke.com to discover the hope hidden in the ruins.