Earlier today in our Lunch & Learn, we talked about Writer’s Block. One of many causes of writer’s block is perfectionism. We (as I include myself in that number) want everything to be perfect.
Our job
Our writing
Our book reviews
Our editorial comments
But, there's that whole "human" thing going on behind the scenes is messing with our stats, and not a single story, poem, essay, song lyric, or novel will be as good as that "perfect" image in our head. And it will kill us if we don't let it go.
No, that’s not hyperbole. The kind of stress perfectionism places on the human psyche has real consequences on our health.
Amanda Ruggeri writers about the dangers of perfectionism:
“The rise in perfectionism doesn’t mean each generation is becoming more accomplished. It means we’re getting sicker, sadder and even undermining our own potential" (BBC.com), and the physical manifestation of our perfectionism includes depression, anxiety, self-harm, OCD, binge eating, anorexia, PTSD, insomnia, fatigue, headaches, and early mortality.
This plays out in different ways for each writer. One writer friend, whenever she gets her editorial letter, goes into a deep depression and can't finish reading the revision letter before running for the M&Ms. And I completely understand her angst, but she needs to remember that we’re only human.
Writer’s Work Ethic
I was raised with the middle-class work ethic of my parents and grandparents, to whom complaining was weakness and giving compliments to their children was coddling. Obviously, they had some serious issues to work out (or they were editors in the making), but the idea behind their work ethic has remained an indelible part of American culture.
Work hard, play hard, write hard, create as fast as you can.
But creativity doesn't work the same as body building or climbing the corporate ladder. Following my first book being published, I created a crazy publication schedule, which, BTW, was my own dang fault. Between 2015-2017, I completed my MFA, the requisite coursework, the thesis project, all while writing and publishing 6 novels and a novella, in addition to my creative nonfiction essay collection.
In many ways, that crazy publication schedule while attending school AND working up to 4 jobs and raising my kids was a result of my upbringing and the expectations of a strong work ethic. It was also the result of fear.
Fear of failure, fear of success, impostor syndrome...
And once I graduated with my MFA, I crashed. I had expended my creativity and didn't take the time to refill my well, as Julia Cameron would say (The Artist's Way).
I had attempted to impose my middle-class work ethic on my creative muse, and she was not amused. The creative crash was the natural consequence of my actions.
Just say No
Writers everywhere struggle with perfectionism. In a perfect world (pun intended), we would continue to write as we struggled for elusive perfection, but in reality, perfectionism stifles our natural talents and creative impulses into what some would call Writer's Block.
Stop seeking perfection. Stop worrying about perfect grades, perfect essays, perfect stories, and perfect lives. None of those things exist, or if they exist, they will injure us in the process.
The result of chasing perfection is a creative coma, and we are better off writing at a slow and steady pace than to burn in the fire of frantic production.
Of course we want to write our best, we want our editor and publisher to like our work, but we can't control their feelings. We can only control the work.
What perfectionist tendencies do you have? Which perfectionist goal can you leave behind and replace with creative growth?
Christina Perr’s We’re Only Human: https://youtu.be/r5yaoMjaAmE