Just thought I'd share the most wonderful gem I rediscovered after my third reading of Anne Lamott's Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.
"Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life...I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carfully 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."
Perhaps it will sink in this time.
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1 comment:
Good book. Good advice. I'm glad you've gotten so much use and inspiration from it! I think perfectionism is what keeps a lot of us from writing. You are beat before you begin, I guess--no poem is ever quite finished. But that doesn't make it any less beautiful, any less worthwhile. And perhaps the process of writing is actually more important than the product. Thanks for the reminder.
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