Ackelia Williams’ Post

Don't be afraid of the ugly first draft. The great thing about creative writing, or writing in general, is that your words are editable. You can carve and mould and polish that ugly baby into a masterpiece that shines like a [insert shiny object here]. Buuuuttt… Be careful not to let perfectionism hinder your creative process or stop you from publishing altogether. For example, when I can't think of the right word in the moment, I use square brackets, as I did above, and come back to it once I'm done. This is so I don't interrupt my writing flow. I left my square brackets here, both to illustrate my point and because I still couldn't come up with the right word. 🙃 Sometimes you have to embrace the not-so-cute draft and trust the process. This is a lesson I have to remind myself of often. Maybe it's self-doubt. Maybe it's ego. But whatever it is that has you thinking that everything you produce needs to be pristine from the first draft, you've got to let it go. Every time you hold yourself back from publishing because you don't think what you've written is absolutely perfect, you're potentially robbing the world, your audience, of something truly magical. Writing is not just writing, it's rewriting, editing, and writing some more. #writing #storytelling #uglyfirstdrafts

Shauna Madhavan

Turn your writing block into your breakthrough moment with Writing Magic, my coaching program designed for you | Writer’s Coach | Storyteller | Metaphor Geek

2mo

Really liked your description, "ugly first draft" - put me in mind of Anne Lamott's sh***y first draft (Bird by Bird). I use the bracket method too - my imagination eventually gives me something good to put into it. And you are right - our perfectionism keep us from putting ourselves out there - thanks for the reminder.

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