Whether in writing or in life, many of us are addicted to perfectionism. Being perfect, we believe, guarantees that we will never be criticized, judged, rejected or humiliated. Being perfect means fewer drafts and revisions. Being perfect means instant success and worldwide fame.
Okay, so a Pulitzer Prize or an Oscar may not happen…at least not right away. But being perfect is, well, a good thing to be. Isn’t it?
It might be if it were possible. It isn’t. No matter how hard you try and how many drafts you churn out, your writing will never achieve perfection. Never.
Not ever.
Your work may be excellent, accomplished, creative and insightful. It may be innovative and compelling. It may be brilliant. But perfect? Not possible.
It’s not possible because when we translate an idea or concept into language, we’re taking something infinite (energy) and dynamic (neural impulses) and converting it into something finite (language) and static (squiggles on a page or pixels on a screen). The resulting “translation” can never be more than approximate.
Can you describe the sunset you experienced last night in words that will accurately and precisely convey to me every shade and nuance of what you saw and felt? Can you write a scene that reproduces the exact emotions you experienced when your child was born, when you got married or when a loved one died?
Of course you can’t. Nor would I want you to. As a reader I want to be free to have my own experience of your sunset and your emotions, and my experience cannot be a faultless replica of yours, colored as it must be by my life and background. Until we can somehow link your writer-brain directly to my reader-brain, that translation will remain imprecise and imperfect.
In the end, perfection is not possible in any creative endeavor. It’s not possible in any human endeavor. It’s simply not possible. As Salvador Dali cautioned, “Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.”
5. Strive for Excellence, Not Perfection
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