Somewhere on this journey, I have transformed. When we started this reverse book club, my goal was just to write. It didn't have to be good. It just had to get done. I was out of practice and needed to get into a routine. Writing was something that was important to me, and I let other people's priorities and schedules push it aside. So the goal was to just do it. Write. I didn't self-edit. I didn't think "this isn't good enough". Surely these were signs that I wasn't a "real writer". Somewhere along the way, I started self-editing. I hone and re-hone and hone yet again the things I create. The self-criticism feels good. Being engaged in the process feels good. Writing, and subsequently editing feels good.
My sister encouraged me to watch a clip of Elizabeth Gilbert speak at the TED Conference. She spoke about the pressure to create something good. Sometimes the pressure of doing something well can prevent one from doing something at all. She encouraged her listeners to let go of that pressure. Your job is to create. She speaks of the muse or the genius as being an external thing. Its job it to inspire. Thinking about writing, or creating art, in this way helps take the pressure off so she can get back to the task at hand. I encourage you to check out the speech: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html
If life is about balance, it would follow that writing is about balance. Striking the balance between getting your work out of your head and into a tangible thing, and honing the creation into something better. Create something without editing it to death: that's the challenge.
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