Perfectionism and Creativity

The Perfectionism Demon. Part 2

I talked in my last post about how the the demon of perfectionism can cripple everyday things like planning. The demon is far more vicious and unforgiving when it comes to the creative process.

I like to write. It’s a creative process for me. When I write, I’m releasing something from within myself for the rest of the world to read. Is it good enough? Does it really say what I want to say? Will I sound foolish?

I’m in the final stages of the first draft of my next book right now, and it’s easy to constantly second-guess myself about whether I’m speaking with the right voice, or whether I’ve phrased this thing or that thing just right.

Each time I go back through the draft, I find improvements to make, if not wholesale remodeling. In fact, I’ve written this book before, and tossed it into the wastebasket of the filing system on my Mac, not happy with the voice or the tone. I’m happier now with the way it sounds, and I’m feeling pretty confident that I’ll have that first draft ready for the editor in a few months.

But in the back of my mind, that ugly demon lurks day and night. He’s constantly making is clear how much things could be improved with a change to voice or approach. He’s a relentless critic. Like a dragon who guards a bridge, he blocks forward movement, and reaching that publishing milestone requires I find a way through, past, or around the beast who guards the bridge.

I’ve found that one of the best ways to trick the dragon is to find ways to slip little bits of writing out into the world. This blog serves that function nicely, as I’ll address in my next post. But as it relates to this next book, I’m finding it’s very helpful to me when folks read bits and pieces of what I’ve written, and give me their feedback. Several folks have done that with bits and pieces so far, and I greatly appreciate their time and input.

If you have the interest and the time, I’d love to share a bit of the upcoming book with you, and hear what you think. It helps me a lot to know what connects with folks and what doesn’t. Most important, it helps me keep that nasty demon wondering what the heck is going on.

Drop me an email, or reach out to me via Twitter or Facebook if you have an interest. Or just leave me a comment here at this post. I promise to make the reading fun and as short as you want, and you’ll play an important role in the publishing process.

Most of all, you’ll be helping to slay a menacing dragon…

Author: Neil Hanson

Neil administers this site and manages content. View all posts by Neil Hanson