Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. …(It)… is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won’t have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren’t even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they’re doing it.
– Anne Lamott
(Thanks to Advice for Writers for this fine quotation.)
It’s as if we worry about anybody seeing our first drafts — but nobody ever will. I knew a woman who said she had a pact with her friend — whoever outlived the other would immediately go to the deceased person’s house and destroy anything embarassing. (Preferably unread!)
Well put, Melissa.
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