I read a quote recently that I keep saying to myself on repeat, so I’m going to share it here:
“You probably aren’t a good enough writer to write so slowly. You’ll only learn by finishing. Make it a priority to get to the end.”
That’s not an exact quote, but a stitched-together version from fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson, offered as advice to first-time book writers.
These words are the ultimate kindness. They’re telling you to gallop. They’re telling you to go. They’re telling you to get those words down, to finish that first draft, to roll out of the gates and take off across the open plains.
And what they’re ultimately telling you is this:
Don’t let yourself fall into the ravine of the non-finisher. The world is full of them. If you want to make something exist, put your analytical mind aside (just for the moment) and go. Wind in the hair, a spritz of coolness hitting the cheeks, a smile as wide as the horizon.
Make your story exist, from start to end- no matter how shabby, incoherent, or seemingly nonsensical. That part, at this stage, is none of your business.
I have galloped through 10,000 words of a first draft this week, and yesterday I sat down to see if I could arrange them into some sort of form. I immediately felt myself react. My mind went to that familiar, headmistress-y place where she’d strike things out with a red pen and pay attention to the particulars.
As soon as I felt her come into the room, I attached an ankle bracelet to her and placed her on house arrest. Not yet, I said gleefully, laced up my shoes full of words, and streaked off like the BFG towards the horizon.
Go fast. Go faster than your mind can catch you.
We can get to the other stuff later.
