Writes Nick Hornby, in "Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius" (Amazon).
"Since I started writing professionally, there has always been something I want to get on with which is not the thing I am working on; I was thinking about the book you’re reading now while in the middle of something else, and now that I have started this book, I am also thinking about the next thing. This speaks more of someone with a short attention span than it does of genius, sadly, but it does also mean that more things get done.... .."
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"Bird by Bird" is one of my favorite books of all time. If you have any interest in writing it is worth your time. I would also recommend Stephen King "On Writing" although I am not a fan otherwise.
Emersonian perfectionism. It's Emerson vs Dewey. To an Emersonian a Deweyian looks like a child playing with toys of destruction and shunning the means of instruction; to a Deweyian an Emersonian looks, at best, like a Deweyian.
Stanley Cavell wrote somewhere.
Writing to deadlines is a cure. If something’s due at 5:00 Friday and and you haven’t turned it in by Saturday morning, it doesn’t matter how perfect it is.
That's funny. Someone gave me "Bird by Bird" years ago and I'd forgotten I ever read it.
Here's what I've learned about writing perfectionism: follow it, but only up to a point. Whatever I'm writing, it's a product of a certain moment in time and in my life. Polish it but get it out the door. Anything saved so it can be better will time out. If I come back to an old piece, it no longer makes sense because I've changed.
A piece will tell me when it's as good as I can make it. Maybe Salinger or Lee waited for that little voice, trusted it, and it never came.
Does thinking about B,C,D & E before finishing A really mean that more things get done?
Prince and Dickens, OK. Can't judge them properly. Perhaps shorthand for the true magicians: incredibly prolific, workman-like consistent, and 90% gems. Bach and Mozart, to start. So good they didn't have to be "perfectionists."
By the way, I've found the perfect cure for perfectionism: commenting on the Althouse blog.
Writing to deadlines is a cure.
Writing for money is another. Worked for Dostoevsky.
Harper Lee didn’t write a second book because Capote was busy elsewhere. He may not have written every word of To Kill A Mockingbird, but he certainly rewrote, edited, advised and assisted Harper Lee.
Atticus Finch was so worked over by the editor that Harper Lee probably felt like a fraud.
But readers can't take honesty.
Big Mike,
One Of my father's favorites was "Not perfect, but Wednesday."
Oddly, he was well-known professionally for perfectionism.
He was probably trying to teach his kids to avoid that trap unless absolutely necessary.
I was taught perfectionism in technical/academic/science writing. It's a must, IMO. Every word and sentence and paragraph needs to say exactly what you are trying to say. I did my whole dissertation, turned it in, and it was approved on the first draft.
My undistinguished writings have all been LMFD: Last Minute First Draft.
The fruits of procrastination, and perhaps some desperation on the part of my editors.
I don't know if you'd call me a perfectionist but I can't tolerate reading or imagine writing a book about nothing but endless gibberish of no significance. Nick Hornby strikes me as someone who has nothing of value to share but wants to talk and to keep on talking and and he accepts that about himself. I find his writing excruciatingly boring. But other people find him entertaining and really enjoy his writing. To each his own, nobody's perfect.
I'm a big fan of Nick Hornby. In particular, the rabid music fans in High Fidelity are funny.
Music Snobs
Top 5 Songs
I did a similar ranking (of cinema instead of music) in my book. Can't remember if High Fidelity was one of my inspirations or not. Maybe?
What's cool about these rankings is not that you're seeking "perfection." The rankings are about meaning. My book is entirely subjective. My top movies are movies I love, and the bottom movies are movies I hate. And I try to explain why I feel this way.
Hornby's book is similar. For instance he ranks girlfriends and stuff like that. He ranks experiences.
Top 5 Songs about Death
5 top things I miss about her
“Writing to deadlines is a cure. If something’s due at 5:00 Friday and and you haven’t turned it in by Saturday morning, it doesn’t matter how perfect it is.”
"Not perfect, but Wednesday."
Like one of my favorite Heinlein quotes, “They didn’t want it good, they wanted it Wednesday.” So true. But if you provide a perfect solution the day after the decision is made or the bid is entered, you are not helpful.
One thing to do is be choosy in which critics to listen too, avoiding the fawners and their opposites.
Another is to cease being a control freak. Lightning can't be captured and strikes rarely.
And then, to enjoy what you do. If you aren't enjoying your craft, reevaluate because that means you are doing it wrong.
All easier said than done.
As others said, deadlines are helpful. The old "Git 'er done," grind it out. It may not be perfect, but it is; where the perfect that is never produced is just nothing.
One thing to do is be choosy in which critics to listen too, avoiding the fawners and their opposites.
Another is to cease being a control freak. Lightning can't be captured and strikes rarely.
And then, to enjoy what you do. If you aren't enjoying your craft, reevaluate because that means you are doing it wrong.
All easier said than done.
Harper Lee's famous book was generously rewritten by childhood friend Truman Capote. She hated writing. She became his research assistant, conducting most of the interviews for In Cold Blood. After that collaboration chilled and Capote descended into self-destruction, Lee spent decades struggling with her second, more honest, poorly written, second book. She mostly retired to play competitive golf and lived in Monroeville with her attorney sister. Sorta like Iggy Pop.
There are lots of one-book wonders. Lee just wasn't a natural writer. Nothing else "stopped" her: she just didn't do the work and without Capote probably couldn't.
I used to like Bird by Bird. I re-read it recently and found it self-centered and poorly researched. Lamont turns out MFA trash like a lowly genre writer. Not a good combination (good genre writers are among the best writers).
Dick Hugo has a good book on writing. The Triggering Town. More nuts and bolts, not Lamont preening.
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