Fake It ‘Til You Make It: One Writer’s Path
One of the best pieces of advice I ever heard about writing was this: lower your standards. These words were spoken by Kim Stafford, son of writer and poet William Stafford. Kim said “lower your standards” were the words his father uttered when asked by people how they could write as prolifically as he did — a poem a day. In the old days armies would “lower their standards” to show the fight was over. William Stafford was urging us to stop fighting with our creativity. When we lower our standards, we give up the battle. We surrender to our words, be they good, bad, or indifferent. We make peace with our writing.
How will you make peace with your writing today?
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mary, this is such great advice. you helped me with this when you suggested that i start at page 1 of my novel and write the whole thing, in order, swiftly and without second-guessing myself. it worked! it allowed me to actually finish the whole thing, then start editing and move towards publishing. i think i would have agonized over it all too much without your great advice!
Thanks, Jeff. Yes, sometimes we just have to go for it an keep the inner critic at bay. It certainly worked for you, my friend.