Author, Margaret Atwood, gives us food for thought in today's poster. Can you see yourself poised in front of your keyboard waiting for that perfect story, perfect poem, perfect essay? If so, see yourself growing old and tired before you ever tap out enough letters to write a word, sentence or paragraph, let alone a full piece.
Perfection is a nice goal but achieving it in a flash is a mere dream. When I was around 4 or 5 years old, my mother signed me up for a tap dance class at our local playground recreation place. I was excited because I would be able to dance just like Shirley Temple, the famed child star of my era.
I went to the first class,shiny new tap shoes in hand. What a disappointment that I did not come home after class #1 being able to tap, tap away like Shirley in the movies. We didn't 'dance.' We did practice steps over and over again. I grew tired of it quicker than a mouse can dart back into its hole. I quit!
I'm happy to say that my attitude toward learning something new had changed considerably by the time I attempted writing. I didn't expect perfection on my first few tries. I would have welcomed it but definitely did not expect it. Cliches may be trite but that old one Practice makes perfect says it all.
Given all that, we have to practice our craft over and over to become better writers. I doubt that any writer will tell you that he/she has gotten to be a poorer writer over the years. Instead, most of us can look back at our early pieces of writing, compare them to what we have written recently and honestly say that we are better writers today.
That happens if we keep practicing, keep working at our craft. Sit in your chair and wait for perfection before you begin, and you'll never find it. Nor will perfection find you. Write every day, write from the heart, and write what inspires you and you might come close. I doubt any writer achieves complete perfection. Nor would it be any fun if it came so easily. Maybe satisfaction is a better goal.
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