Comments on: Writing lessons — The End http://www.patricesarath.com/gordath-wood/writing-lessons-the-end/ Writing lessons and the writing life Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:44:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Patrice Sarath http://www.patricesarath.com/gordath-wood/writing-lessons-the-end/comment-page-1/#comment-4331 Patrice Sarath Sat, 21 Mar 2009 03:30:13 +0000 http://www.patricesarath.com/gordath-wood/writing-lessons-the-end/#comment-4331 Oh I agree that The End is just the beginning and there is a lot more that can be said about revision and the editing process. But when writing a first draft there are only these things to remember: Shitty first drafts (care of Ann Lamott, author of Bird By Bird) or as otherwise noted, Dare to suck. And even more important, Perfect is the enemy of Good. Oh I agree that The End is just the beginning and there is a lot more that can be said about revision and the editing process.

But when writing a first draft there are only these things to remember:

Shitty first drafts (care of Ann Lamott, author of Bird By Bird)

or as otherwise noted,

Dare to suck.

And even more important,

Perfect is the enemy of Good.

]]> By: Fred Stanton http://www.patricesarath.com/gordath-wood/writing-lessons-the-end/comment-page-1/#comment-4325 Fred Stanton Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:17:22 +0000 http://www.patricesarath.com/gordath-wood/writing-lessons-the-end/#comment-4325 I wholeheartedly agree, and I think the point is worth further discussion because there's so many nuances to what constitutes finishing, or what constitutes giving up. If one realizes partway through a story that, for example, it will only work in third person limited rather than third person omniscient, I think it's all right to go back to the beginning and write it the better way. The author shouldn't think he or she is giving up. It's okay to experiment with two or more different beginnings to find the best way to start. An obvious hazard of trying out different beginnings is that the desire for perfection can be an excuse to never get any further. An early draft doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to get the story going. In my own experience, I have never written a good beginning without having to scrap the rough draft and start again. Reaching "the end" is a wonderful thing, but even then there is more work to do. Inevitably, some parts of the story will work and others won't. There is much to be learned from revising the parts that don't work. Once again, an obvious hazard is perfectionism; a story one endlessly revises is never really finished. A good story might be made great with just a single revision, while even the most wretched, awful story deserves at least one rewrite before locking it away. One learns from one's failures as well as one's successes. I wholeheartedly agree, and I think the point is worth further discussion because there’s so many nuances to what constitutes finishing, or what constitutes giving up.

If one realizes partway through a story that, for example, it will only work in third person limited rather than third person omniscient, I think it’s all right to go back to the beginning and write it the better way. The author shouldn’t think he or she is giving up. It’s okay to experiment with two or more different beginnings to find the best way to start.

An obvious hazard of trying out different beginnings is that the desire for perfection can be an excuse to never get any further. An early draft doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to get the story going. In my own experience, I have never written a good beginning without having to scrap the rough draft and start again.

Reaching “the end” is a wonderful thing, but even then there is more work to do. Inevitably, some parts of the story will work and others won’t. There is much to be learned from revising the parts that don’t work. Once again, an obvious hazard is perfectionism; a story one endlessly revises is never really finished. A good story might be made great with just a single revision, while even the most wretched, awful story deserves at least one rewrite before locking it away. One learns from one’s failures as well as one’s successes.

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