Thinking of my daily writings as first drafts has helped me overcome the feeling that each post needs to be perfect.
The start of each draft is not a thought out idea, but an idea at its infancy stage. To pair an infant idea with an imperfect first draft makes the effort of putting it on paper less restricting, resulting in having little to no resistance when starting out.
There’s a book I finished reading a few days ago by Anne Lamott where she outlines her writing course to the reader. In one of the chapters, she goes in depth on the necessity of getting something written, regardless of how ugly it is.
“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something—anything—down on paper.”
Bird by Bird
Once the thought is on paper and out of your head, you can continue the writing process. This is how most good writing begins. Reading that chapter helped me better understand what I was already doing.
But instead of writing a second and third draft. I stick with my first draft and publish them on here for three reasons:
- Time
- Consistency
- Decision Making
I don’t have enough time in the morning to rewrite a second or third draft of each post when it should already be sent out. Although the writing would be much better if I waited, the novelty would wear off by then. There’s vulnerability in sharing first drafts with the world that somehow builds confidence in my writing process; if I’m comfortable exposing my terrible writing, then I’m comfortable knowing that my other pursuits don’t need to start out perfectly.
The second reason is to remain consistent with what’s already been published. I wasn’t aware in the beginning, but I’ve already been publishing my first drafts when I first started. When I read the first posts I published, it’s incredible how much my writing has changed.
The final reason is that each post helps me decide what my next project should be. Lately, I’ve been relying on my writings to sort out my ideas for upcoming projects and writing them down has brought clarity in determining if it’s a project worth pursuing. If it doesn’t feel right when I write about it, then I won’t start the project. Maybe it’s not the right time to start, or maybe it’s not a good project to begin with.
My reasons are not to say that I won’t write a second or third draft of my posts. I will, but only on the writings that have potential and are worth working on. For example, I rewrote my “What Is Your Great Question?” topic and published it on Medium with extra content and improved writing.
What matters is not how good my writing needs to be, but that I wrote something everyday. It’s up to me if I want to go back and work on it a little more.
My desire in remaining consistent is similar to Jerry Seinfeld’s “Don’t Break the Chain” habit, where he sets a daily goal and marks each successful day on a calendar with a big red “X.” The objective is to create an unbroken chain of Xs, which motivates him to maintain his streak and stay consistent. It acts as a reminder and incentive not to break the streak.
Seeing the date on each of my post and knowing that there’s something new every day is my reminder to not break my streak.
Here’s my inspiration for the day.