How do you give yourself permission to write crap?

Well, it was the fear of writing crap that kept me from completing my WIP for years and years, until I realised I would end up being one of those wanna-be writers that never manage to finish anything in their lives.

So now I'm just writing away, even though I can tell that a lot of what I am writing is crap. Thankfully, there are passages in my work that are far from being crappy, that give me the confidence I need to proceed. Since I can write good stuff, I might as well allow myself to write the occasional crappy passage, which I can always come back to rewrite.

And why not? If I want to be a better writer, I need to write. That's all.

Well, earlier I had a huge gap between 'I-know-what-to-write' and 'I'm-finally-writing-what-I-wanted-to-write' mode. Now I understand that all that days of doubts were bigger waste of time than writing crap.

Pretty much. I figure if I write crap, I've at least written something. I can ditch it or rework it later.

I do NOT give myself permission to write crap. The expectations I have for myself are higher than that. If you set out to write crap, you will probably do just that. Telling yourself you can fix or rewrite it later can be a form of procrastination. Why not write it well the first time?

The one time I told myself it was okay to write crap was during a NaNo. I was so focused on getting a novel written in a month. That was a disaster. I actually didn't think I could write as poorly as I was writing. Permission to write crap produced just that. And I don't think I was writing any faster than I usually do.

Honestly, if I thought my writing was crap, I wouldn't want to do it. I don't see the appeal that comes with this saying. I give myself permission to experiment and try new things when it comes to writing, but everything is to the best of my abilities.

Oh, I have a typical Dunning-Kruger dissonance in my reactions to my just-written work. I *want* to think it's solid gold. Worst-case scenario, it's crap. More and more often it's on the higher side, around 'acceptable'.

Of course, we aim for the best work we can do, unless we're doing a sequel to 'Atlanta Nights*. But so often, the problem lies in not being able to tell the difference between crap and gold. Learning that takes time and a whole lotta writing.

To clarify: I approach a rough draft knowing I'm going to revise it frequently. Sure, at the moment of writing, I want to write my best. But since I know it's getting brutally revised, I have the freedom to experiment and throw stuff on the page.

gettingby said:

Honestly, if I thought my writing was crap, I wouldn't want to do it. I don't see the appeal that comes with this saying. I give myself permission to experiment and try new things when it comes to writing, but everything is to the best of my abilities.

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I'm in the same camp. I'll try something new and sometimes it works - sometimes it doesn't. If it doesn't then I'll rework it but I don't ever say, well, hell, just write and re-do it later. I will advise others to do this if they're having trouble finishing anything, but otherwise, I just see it as wasted time.

gettingby said:

I do NOT give myself permission to write crap. The expectations I have for myself are higher than that. If you set out to write crap, you will probably do just that. Telling yourself you can fix or rewrite it later can be a form of procrastination. Why not write it well the first time?

. . .

Honestly, if I thought my writing was crap, I wouldn't want to do it. I don't see the appeal that comes with this saying.

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Total agreement. I can't see any good coming out of writing "crap". That's not to say you should descend into the cloaca of perfectionism, which will almost certainly be a blockade, but neither should you simply vomit words in hopes you get something good out of it. You should always be trying to put the best into your writing, while recognizing that editing/revising/rewriting are an inevitable part of the process, for most writers. And that editing/revising/rewriting will be a hell of a lot easier and more enjoyable IF you're put your best effort into the initial draft in the first place.

caw

I don't, I edit as I go.

I don't believe anyone can really produce a "one and done" manuscript but my first draft is always at least coherent and readable, so my second and subsequent passes over the finished work are editing rather than re-writing.

I keep a picture of Lot's wife on my desk -- if I look back I will be turned into a pillar of salt. I have to write crap if I want to write good.

Basically, I know I will want to rewrite anyway. Rewriting allows for subtleties and depth in my work that no amount of planning could achieve, so what I write is all about exploring the world, discovering the story and getting to know the characters. Often I don't even read my first draft although the ones I've read are readable. I tend to follow 1. Write draft. 2. Read draft. 3. Bin draft -- 4. Rinse and repeat until happy and then edit.

PeteMC said:

I don't believe anyone can really produce a "one and done" manuscript

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Well, yeah, they can. I also edit as I go and the only thing left when finished is polishing. Could I do a few more passes? Sure, but the story would merely be different, not necessarily better, which is the only reason (IMO) to do more than one draft. There are other writers here who do the same thing. It's definitely possible.

Usher said:

Basically, I know I will want to rewrite anyway. Rewriting allows for subtleties and depth in my work that no amount of planning could achieve, so what I write is all about exploring the world, discovering the story and getting to know the characters.

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Gold nugget right there.

Here's the thing about giving yourself permission to write crap: Giving yourself permission to write crap is not about deliberately writing crap. It's about harnessing your internal editor if you can't shut it off completely. It's about getting the bones of the story down. Fix what you need to fix to shut that editor up, but keep writing.

Ari Meermans said:

Gold nugget right there.

Here's the thing about giving yourself permission to write crap: Giving yourself permission to write crap is not about deliberately writing crap. It's about harnessing your internal editor if you can't shut it off completely. It's about getting the bones of the story down. Fix what you need to fix to shut that editor up, but keep writing.

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Bearing in mind the difference between controlling the internal editor and letting the internal editor control you. I don't believe in shutting off the IE completely. Not editing along the way means I may end up rewriting dang near the whole story because I screwed up royally in the beginning - and that's the kiss of death for me. No, I'm a firm believer in getting it right the first time.

I have to believe in what I'm writing while I'm writing it. If I think I'm writing crap, I have to stop and figure out what the problem is. I'm not talking about perfection; I actually enjoy the polishing stage. In general, I find I write better if I convince myself I'm a genius while writing the first draft. If I start doubting, I just tell myself I'm a genius, it will sound better tomorrow when I look at it again, and somebody out there is going to love my voice. It doesn't matter if any of this is true; it just matters that I believe it. Then on the second draft I can get snippy with myself a bit more, but even then, it works better if I go in saying, "Yes, it's wonderful, but let's make it even greater." Again, I'm not saying it's true, but it makes the whole process more joyful, which probably results in better writing.

So I give myself permission to write crap basically by convincing myself that it isn't. But I have to address real issues before continuing or they will break the machine. Plot ideas that aren't working, characters that refuse to gel, stuff like that has to get fixed or I'll end up writing big chunks that will have to be cut and I write way to slowly to be able to do that.

I allow myself to believe I'm writing crap because at the end of the day the stuff I'm writing really isn't crap. It just looks and smells like it right at that moment.

In retrospect, what I've done is allow my subconscious to write uninhibited by analysis paralysis. And after some time has passed, it usually turns out far better than I thought when I was writing it.

bearilou said:

I allow myself to believe I'm writing crap because at the end of the day the stuff I'm writing really isn't crap. It just looks and smells like it right at that moment.

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Great line

I've been having issues with this lately too. The first draft of my first novel, I didn't expect it to be any good. I was just happy to get those words out without hitting a wall.

Umpteen revisions and edits later, the quality of the writing on it is much improved, and I'm working on another manuscript. But I've gotten so "good" at editing and polishing, or at least I'm now so much in that mode, I'm having a heck of a time relaxing and just letting the poo flow from my fingertips again. I'm comparing this first draft to the much more polished draft of the previous novel. Everything has to make perfect sense in draft one now, and it has to look reasonably well crafted as it falls onto the page. And this new surge of perfectionism is paralyzing me!

It doesn't help that I just ran across a QT success story from someone who got 20 requests and 7 offers within two weeks of submitting her first draft of a novel she banged out in a few months (and she signed with an agent who requested a full but ultimately passed on the novel I've spent three years working on). I feel like I should be able to do that too.

Roxxsmom said:

But I've gotten so "good" at editing and polishing, or at least I'm now so much in that mode, I'm having a heck of a time relaxing and just letting the poo flow from my fingertips again. I'm comparing this first draft to the much more polished draft of the previous novel. Everything has to make perfect sense in draft one now, and it has to look reasonably well crafted as it falls onto the page. And this new surge of perfectionism is paralyzing me!

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This is exactly how I felt when I started my second (and current) manuscript. For me, I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle. I want to write with enough urgency to quiet the Inner Editor and let the characters speak freely, but be conscious enough of what I'm putting down that I'm not ignoring major problems that arise because I'm so damn desperate to finish the draft.

I realized four chapters in that I needed to change tenses and while part of me was thinking, "You're going to have to revise it anyway, so just keep going," I knew that the writing would suffer if I didn't. Maybe I'm being too precious about the whole thing, but it's important to me that the book's foundation feels as right as it can now, even if that's far from where it'll eventually end up.

I think holding our first drafts to a higher standard is an inevitable side effect of writing and editing manuscript after manuscript. Now we know what works, what to avoid, what turns of phrase we rely too heavily on. It's hard to write crap if we know we're capable of caviar, so balance is essential. My rule of thumb is, if a sentence or paragraph stalls me for more than five minutes, I move on. Then, once I reach the end of that scene or chapter, I come back and look at it with fresh(er) eyes. Sometimes we won't know how to fix something until we gain a little perspective, and by "perspective," I mean five to ten chapters' worth of story and character development under our belts.

bearilou said:

I allow myself to believe I'm writing crap because at the end of the day the stuff I'm writing really isn't crap. It just looks and smells like it right at that moment.

In retrospect, what I've done is allow my subconscious to write uninhibited by analysis paralysis. And after some time has passed, it usually turns out far better than I thought when I was writing it.

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YASSS. No one's trying to write crap. That would be ridiculous. "Permission to write crap" is about letting your ridiculous perfectionist brain sit in a corner and think "oh this is crap, I'm crap, what am I doing" while your writer brain chugs merrily along with the story going "la la la can't hear you, don't care." It's a mind trick for defeating perfectionism, that's all.

Roxxsmom said:

... I feel like I should be able to do that too.

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I know.

You don't have to give yourself permission to write crap. You'll do it anyway!

As several of you have said, the best tactic may be to give yourself permission not to write PERFECTION. No single sentence or paragraph will ever be perfect. Delaying to write such will keep you from finishing a work, or lose you in the thickets of leaves and limbs when you should be focusing on the tree and making it as graceful as you can.

Fix what can easily and quickly be fixed, but be ready to make a note and go on. I put one in brackets like this to make it easier to find [!!FIX PARA STRUCT]. [!!CORRECT FIGHT SEQUENCE]

Each of us has to find the right path (for us) between too much self-criticism as we write and too little.