“My mistakes makes my writing suck!”
It’s one of those things that none of us want to have but it still follows you around like a stalker.
Whatever you do it’s always there, screaming at your head: You aren’t good enough.
But good enough for what?
You ask yourself exhausted from the constant editing.
“Am I really not good enough? Why am I making all these mistakes?”
If it helps you to know, it’s something that consumes all our minds. You’re not alone and it’s part of the journey.
But let me throw you a curveball: Should we really call them mistakes?
If you’re struggling with what I think you are, then I’m happy to say, you shouldn’t.
Because it seems you might be struggling with the beginning bias.
What the hell is that?
Just a healthy dose of: Everything feel like it isn’t perfect.
It’s got nothing to do with your skill. Your published works. Your favorite color. In fact, it has nothing to do with you. (I know I might have hit your pride a bit, but trust me, it’s a good thing.)
It’s a pressure born from your peers. A pressure you still have to grow accustomed to and you’ll soon come to love.
“But how? Tell me how Jack”
That’s why we are here.
Grab your favorite pen and let’s get this show on the road: Why your mistakes aren’t really mistakes and how they’ll help you improve.
Why your mistakes aren’t really call mistakes
Let’s be honest with each other.
It’s one of those things that will follow you everywhere, constantly tapping your shoulder until you pay it some attention. It’s annoying and you can’t focus, but if you take a closer look, you’ll actually see a familiar face.
“Damn, this post is terrible.”
It’s critique. Look again. Listen again. It’s your own voice.
“Thanks, I’m still learning and improving.”
Bow and appreciate the fact it took the time to read this.
We, you and I. We have some dysfunctional image of ourselves. It’s a known fact when you start your writing journey. You’ll expect too much of yourself. But, and this is the golden point, it only seems to work in our favor when people judge our work.
Don’t believe me? Look at the dialogue above.
See what I did? I used my position as a newbie as defense for why my work is terrible.
Let’s try to flip the scenario.
“There’s no way I can post this,” your hands hover over the keyboard. Your brain is flicking through its registers for a specific word. I need that word; you scan the previous paragraph. Reality hits you like a heavy-weight boxer’s uppercut, “There’s absolutely no way I can post this.”
See the difference?
There’s no better way to use your position as a newbie to talk down to yourself. It’s the easy choice.
But I deserve more.
Yes, you do, but not in this manner.
Your new best friend: Improvement points
Because as a new and aspiring writer ‘mistake’ really is a definition based on context. And for the most part, it’s born from the wrong context.
Therefore, I don’t like calling them mistakes. It’s too negative and doesn’t convey the right message.
I, instead, like to call them improvement points. Sounds way nicer, doesn’t it?
And just like an amazing fire in a blistering cold, when your skin’s tightened up and your eyes fixate on the hundreds of colors. What do you do? You don’t run from it, but towards it.
Just something to reflect over.
Don’t run from them / Why they are important
It’s a fight inside you. A civil war that has the power to stop everything you do. A trouble you’ll have to face at some point, so why not face them head?
Because just about everybody will experience some kind of mistake throughout their writing journey, and you, my friend, are no different.
I’m not trying to discourage you. Tell you your trouble isn’t justified. In fact, it’s perfectly justified, but I’m telling you: Without the ability to identify your improvement points you’ll work with one hand tied on your back.
You have official lost me. That makes no sense. What are you on about?
Am I getting a reaction from you? Perfect then we’re on the right path. Keep your composure, we are almost there.
Another thing reason why you shouldn’t run from them is because they are where the fun is.
It’s like a gigantic metal strap placed around your mind. It locks your creativity in like cattle during the winter season. And the key is your improvement points.
Build an “improvement first” mindset.
Your overall mission is to write a good novel. This is clear.
But to make this happen you need another one. A smaller mission, but equally as important.
You need to adapt a mindset that lets you take the improvements in, work on and improve them.
It’s as simple as this.
Write the bad pieces: Pieces that’ll make you cringe, close your eyes, and jump out of your skin. Because it’s behind the mountain of embarrassment you’ll find everything you’re looking.
And while walking through fire doesn’t seem fun. Neither is staying in negative 40 degree. Especially if you know clear land is on the other side.
How to make the most of your improvement points
But how do you identify mistakes? The same way you told yourself lies.
You look at your work. Find your spots where you prepare excuses. This is where you need to step in. Look yourself in the eye and repeat after me: These aren’t mistakes.
It’s your subconscious talking.
How do you find your improvement points? Different story.
Your improvement points are something that’s missing, doesn’t sound right, or in some way makes the story incomplete, but I understand if it can be hard to determine.
Improvements are a blessing in a disguise.
Sometimes a good, dark, hidden disguise that’ll take you hours or even days to look through. You look at your work, a horrific feeling spread through your body as the realization slowly starts to dawn on you: You have spent just about the whole day on something you want to delete.
Improvements will play with your nerves and awaken a massive fire inside.
It’ll burn bright and you need to capture and control the fire. It’s motivation. Pure motivation to get your work back on track.
And that’s why it’s such an important thing to stay close to the fire.
The light at the end of the tunnel
I know it might seem like a joke, but the fire is powerful.
It’s the light at the end of the tunnel and you need to utilize it to the fullest to push through your draft.
Once you place the last period in your story, you’ll feel euphoria like never before. It’s a whole different experience. You gain an omniscience. You know what to do and your story becomes a completely different one.
And once you are finished, you’ll be capable of looking past the negative thoughts and make something of your story.
But what if you ignored all the “mistakes”?
Every mistake, as you would call them, becomes a point you wished you improved upon. A nagging pain. But because you listened to me, once you place the last period, you’ll realize. The quiet. Everything is light and you can move: The nagging pain is gone.
Now, if you were to note down everything you called mistakes at first. You’d first off, get a long list of things, but you’d be surprised. The list. It’d include a thing that has evolved into something you can call an improvement.
Is it really a mistake or just your mind?
I know it can be hard to distinguish between these two. But if you have reached this point and still feel unsure.
Damn. I’m sorry.
Take a breather.
Is the world still spinning? Are you okay?
I’ll try to explain:
An improvement point: A thing that you did out of conscious that it was the right thing to do.
And if you suddenly, in the middle of page 3, feel lost. Why doesn’t it sound like Stephen King? This isn’t going to sell. Why are you even using the time?
Perfect, you’re already breaking down the pillars from the inside.
This is your mind.
If a paragraph doesn’t sound right, if a scene doesn’t play out right or if a character is rough, then it’s not a mistake. It’s an improvement point.
If you start hating on your writing, questioning whether you’re cut out for writng, then it’s your subconsciousness trying to impact your writing.
I know it’s difficult.
But you know what?
The constant scanning through your writing. The constant dread, back and forth. It’s exhausting. It’s the worst of being a beginning writer.
But want to know what the best is? Easy. If everything is already bad, then there’s only improvements left.
That’s a wrap for you today.
Until next time – Hope you have a productive and creative day.
Your writing buddy,
Jack