Timers really are magical

We would do this during NaNoWriMo and it was effective but I never really tried it on my own.  But it works.

Sunday afternoon Natasha kept begging me to come play dolls with her, so I set my timer for ten minutes and told her I’d come when it went off.

Knowing I’ve only got a few minutes to cram as much creativity into as possible really worked for me.

And while I’m on the topic of “You already have the truth within you” I’m having to remind myself about the whole “box up your editor” advice.  Being in the awkward place of simultaneously creating and editing (yes, I know this is horrible, I don’t currently know an alternative that won’t increase my work later) I’m having to remind myself about letting go of perfect on this new material.

~ ~ ~

It makes me think of a line that horrified my sensibilities when I first heard it:

“Cs get degrees.”

The guy who shared this bit of wisdom with me was pointing out that no one cares that you killed yourself maintaining a 4.0 once you’re holding that piece of paper.  At least for the field he was interested in.

It makes me think of conversations I’ve had, or interviews I’ve read, where another writer will boast that he gets it “right” (or so close to right) the first time that revision is virtually unnecessary.

Here I see the finished piece of writing in the role of the degree.

No one cares how few drafts it took to bring the piece to this level of quality.  They look– consciously or not– at what it is, not what it is for only x-drafts.

And that (mostly) eliminates my sense of competitiveness.

Sure, being quick helps (especially when you’re blogging and want to get your thoughts down quickly so they quit cluttering your brain while you’re trying to write fiction…) but speed is so far from my primary goal as a growing writer that I don’t want to be tricked into releasing something too soon.

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