Last week we talked a lot about slowing down, taking the time to do things right the first time. I often have a fascination with getting things right. After all I was trained at an early age to engage the world and its problems in this way. All throughout our education we are taught that there is always a right answer. There is always a wrong answer. It is only when we get out in the real world that we find that life ain’t a multiple choice test. Often times there is no right answer. Sometimes we find that we aren’t even asking the right question. So? Should you stop dreaming because you have no answer? No. You dare to make mistakes.
Some of my first stories were written under the inauspicious thought that there was a right way to write. I would spend my time reading and reading and reading; trying to discern the patterns and the rhythms of the novels in my hands. I would fixate on my poor grasp of punctuation trying to learn how to properly use it. I would spend hours looking up synonyms so I didn’t use the same word twice. Do you know what I found with all my toil? Writing is not a math problem. In writing one cannot expect to get results simply by adding the numbers up. One has to write!
I wanted to get things right so badly that it prevented me from the most important aspect of being a writer. Writing! Once I stopped focusing on the negative things that were holding me back I was free to write and free to learn. I’ve learned that behind every novel there is a whole other book full of notes, character sheets, unused plot devices and world building. Every story has its own rhythm and it’s own pace. Every character has their own quirks and surprises. Sure, having a grasp on the basic word structure is important but it pales in comparison to having a grasp on the story itself. I learned this from experience. From sitting down and writing really, really bad stories.
Those stories laid a foundation though. A foundation that continues to grow with each new completed project. With each new short story. With each new blog post. Each one I learn something new, not because I am so great but because I am constantly making mistakes. I am actively participating in my dream, learning my craft, seeing with my own eyes what works and what doesn’t. I can’t do that if I am not writing.
So many times it seems that we allow our fear of being wrong to hold us back from chasing our dreams. So many times we are hung up on getting the right answer that we don’t explore or take the time to learn our craft. Your own dreams will challenge you in ways you never expect them too. You will be given the choice, do you allow your fear of failure to hold you back? Or do you go out there and make a few mistakes? Break a few eggs. Write a few bad stories. Tell your own stories. Make your dreams come true.