My late mother used to call me a pefectionist. She was right, even when I was a child, I tried to make everything perfect.
It puts a ton of pressure on you, not from outside forces but from within and we often do it with our writing.
My need to be perfect slowed my writing down. Each day I’d go back over the previous day’s work to see how much more ‘perfect’ I could make it. I’d worry if the manuscript I was about to submit was ‘perfect’ enough.
I’m not saying we should be happy with sloppy writing or you should lack motivation to become a better writer, that’s something you certainly want to do.
However, one day, I realized that there’s no such thing as perfection in your own eyes because we’re all self critics. I also figured out that the only person I should ever compete with is myself.
This week, do the best writing you can, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect. In someone else’s eyes it’s going to shine.