You are the hack who butchers your ideas. It’s okay. That’s true for everyone. We butcher our ideas when we commit them to paper or hit publish.
But it must be done.
Otherwise we freeze. And never write. We fear the botched performance. The corruption of sublime ideas once they hit the atmosphere.
Corruption, however, is essential to creation.
See, there are two modes to creation. First, there is the birth of the idea, which happens in your head. Second, you turn that idea into reality (hit publish), which usually confirms your suspicion: the idea wasn’t that great.
But here’s the thing.
Rough drafts will almost never reflect your original idea. A rough draft reflects sloppy thinking. And the older the writer you are the better you understand that principle.
See, rewriting — an arduous task — helps you to think clearly. So the more you write not only the better writer you become — but the better your thoughts become, too.
In other words, as your writing improves so do your ideas. But that’s not all.
Over time the opinion of your ideas decreases. Which should encourage you.
Since your ideas are not as great as you think they are the damage done by publishing them is diminished. So, you publish frequently. And frequent publishing forces you to come up with new ideas faster.
Which means more opportunity to stumble across a truly great idea. Just like any numbers game.
Image source: Leon Ephraïm
This is such a difficult concept, and I cannot, for the life of me, understand why. Up until Monday of last week, I was publishing daily. It was fun. It wasn’t that hard. I had a huge and growing list of ideas, but when I look at them Tuesday morning, they ALL look silly.
I think that my biggest hurdle is that a part of me thinks that all this writing is the creative’s version of narcissism, and I most certainly don’t want to be that person. So…I’m constantly redefining my reason for doing it (on my own blog) all the time. I know. I’m irritating.
Anyway…this article is a great help to me because I can see clearly – again – that I’m just operating out of fear, most days. After I finish my client work, I’m going to go write. Thanks, Demian! This is perfectly-timed encouragement for me.
I like the process of an idea before it hits the screen. I like the fluidity of writing with ink. So yes.. hacking my work is an everyday experience. This is my first attempt at learning succinct writing . This class blog has helped to kick my nerves about how choppy or disconnected my words are when they are not correctly formed in well intention but drowning in ..the “too much” zone. rough drafts bark at my ideas and I freeze. This has helped me understand the process. Great Article.
I wouldn’t necessarily say that a rough draft represents “sloppy” thinking as much as “unpolished” thinking.
Much like a diamond pulled out from the earth, it comes out unshapely, clouded by the dust and debris that shaped and formed it.
Sloppy? No.
But it is unshaped, unattractive.
Any precious stones expert would recognize its worth in a second, but to the average reader it’s nothing but another clouded piece of earth.
The writer’s skill comes with not only unearthing this gem, but polishing it, cutting it down, sanding it, grinding it. Stripping away the layers of dirt and grime that encased it when he first pulled it out of the earthy womb and transforming it into a gleaming diamond.
And that is what re-writing’s about.
I think the two words mean the same thing … 😀
There’s a bottleneck often between ideas as they take shape in my head and their taking shape in words on a page. You’re right, often my ideas aren’t as brilliant as they looked while still in the womb of my head. But I suppose, like a person taking shape and becoming whole, they’re not always going to turn out how we wanted them too. Sometimes, they take on minds of their own – our ideas as writing, I mean.
See I often think my post ideas are pretty cool. Until I flesh them out and the truth, like a petulant child sticking his tongue out, emerges. The only saving grace is consistency. When I stick to the routine, a few gems appear from time to time. I guess it comes down to consistently showing up.
Consistency is key! Everything you do in life, the more you do it, the better you get at it.
You have to remember that, “Repetition is the mother of all skill.”
I’ve discovered for myself over the years that I’ve become better and better at writing body copy, blog posts, and emails.
I’m looking forward to reading more of your posts.
Thanks, Jonathan!
Just wonderful piece, Demian!
I must say that mastery improves with doing the same things repeatedly. So, writing is the skill and improves as the time passes. Never suspect what your content will mean to others but ask for the feedback from your readers.