The goal is to make a thing

There really is no excuse if you want to make things, if you want to be a creative person who makes things. There’s really no reason not to do it other than, if you’re like me, the fear, right?
And the fear is that ‘well it’s going to suck’ or ‘it’s not going to be worth my time’ or ‘it’s not going to be the way that it’s going to be.’

The goal is not to be perfect. The goal is to make a thing where there wasn’t a thing before.

~Wil Wheaton, Radio Free Burrito, episode 43

You don’t need costly materials, you don’t need a writing education, you just need a story and the gumption to see it through.

— Rachel Aaron/Bach (@Rachel_Aaron) September 11, 2015

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You have the power. You have the voodoo. You’ve got the ability to motivate yourself. You needn’t look for external things. You want time? Grab it. You need inspiration? Drill it up out of your own heart. You want motivation? Write. Write your way to it, then write your way through it. You are not beholden to anything outside yourself.

You are beholden only to yourself.
~“DEAR WRITERS AND CREATIVE-TYPES: YOU DON’T NEED MOTIVATION”, Chuck Wendig

I posted an interview with a difference yesterday – one in which Monty, main character of some of my pieces of writing, got to interview me, his writer. I’d originally posted that piece in 2011 – a friend found it and liked it, so I brushed off the original, gave it a bit of a polish and posted it up.

Amusingly, to me at least, I’ve *still* not finished any of the myriad of Monty stories I’ve started over the years. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of stories I’ve actually finished.

So, what’s stopping me? Partly The Fear, as Wil Wheaton says. Whatever I write isn’t going to be awesome enough. I want it to be great out of the box, perfect first time.

Which is silly. First drafts are *supposed* to suck. Everyone knows that, right?

Partly the lack of gumption to see it through (thanks Rachel, for that brilliant word!). There are too many other things to distract. Oh look! Season 6 of Castle on Amazon Video!

Partly the lack of time. Time spent watching Castle after the kids are finally in bed. Time spent out doing Real Life things. Time away from home, seeing friends, doing stuff.

There’s enough time in the day. You just need to choose to use it.

Writers write.

Author: dave

Book reviewer, occasional writer, photographer, coffee-lover, cyclist, spoon carver and stationery geek. View all posts by dave