The Freedom of Good Enough Writing
Sometimes the pressure to ‘write well’ can get in the way.
- Get in the way of writing when we mean to (plan to, ‘have to’.)
- Get in the way of enjoying it.
- Get in the way of writing what we really want to say.
Your comments and feedback on Alex Fayle’s guest post on ‘when should you not write?’ got me thinking. Then Christine Kane’s ‘Get Creative’ newsletter arrived in my in-box and reminded me of the pleasure of doing things the imperfect way.
The freedom and liberation that comes from good enough.
And this reminded me, in turn, of another poem I wrote in Sardinia.
It was written quickly, to get me out of a block: the kind of block that comes when you’re trying to find some clever words to capture the moment, to write something well so you can share your work with others, to come up, quickly, with something interesting to say.
So I went for a poem instead. ‘Just writing’… what I saw, and felt. Writing my way through the moment of disquiet.
Plus I don’t have any expectations of myself as a poet… and I’d really like to keep it that way. Because writing what you’re feeling, right there, right then, without concern for how good it is…well, that’s a precious form of liberation.
Although I am going to share the poem, seeing as how you liked the last one (Still).
This one is called Too Hard, and it was inspired by this chair.
Too Hard
This seat looks near perfect.
Seat shaped.
Natural.
Waiting for her.
Look up, and there it is,
The frame of the tree,
The open page,
The blank screen waiting for the words,
The promise of the landscape,
The week drifting ahead.
But in all honesty
It’s all too flippin’ hard.
Her legs ache
She shifts uncomfortably
It doesn’t bend witih her
Just sits and waits, stubbornly.
The frame of the tree
Isn’t an invitation
But a tease, a sneer:
‘Look at you,
The landscape’s open
And you can’t write a thing’
The seat and the frame
It’s too damned
Hard
The only way to write
Is to ignore their
Demands
And
Go the other way.
You’ll never write a thing
On a chair that resists you
When you’re
Trying
Too hard.
Joanna,
thanks for the poem and the wonderful photo! I think they go together very well! I like this poem very much, too. The words are simple, but they hit the nail on the head!
And thanks for sharing Christine’s article – I subscribed to her blog and I am enjoying every single post she writes.
.-= Ulla Hennig´s last blog ..Back in Berlin! =-.
Joanna, the poem is beautiful and the perfect complement to Christine’s article. I found myself just this morning typing and backspacing as I struggled to find the words to express my thoughts “perfectly.” Yet, I now see my time would have been better served by simply allowing myself to write without restrictions. Yes, I’m editing my novel but I can edit imperfectly and make progress rather than agonizing over one sentence and failing to move forward. Thank you for guiding the way and helping us to embrace our writing self – warts and all.
Two sides of the same coin:
Allowing imperfections will liberate your writing.
Perfectionistic obsessions will stifle it.
And yet for some reason, we all have to fight far too hard to convince ourselves that a flaw is not a failure.
.-= C. S. Lane´s last blog ..Prefix of the Day: NEO- =-.
Beautiful poem!… and yeah, you are right, we just need to borrow from imperfections at times to spur up our creativity cells
.-= write a writing´s last blog ..Death =-.
Ulla thanks – I was glad to have a photo of the chair (and the moment) – it helps to make sense of the poem. The words are very simple… it’s the way I like my poetry
I’m glad you’re enjoying Christine’s stuff – it’s great isn’t it?
Karen glad you liked my imperfect poem
Funny, after publishing the first I wasn’t worried about this one, even though I knew it wasn’t much more than a jotting. It captured the moment for me is all. Editing is tricky – I’m not sure you can edit imperfectly? You’re probably right though, maybe you can do it well enough in order to just keep going. Good on you for dusting down the novel and committing to getting it finished though.
C S hi, and thanks for saying hello. Yes, those perfectionist streaks are really unhelpful aren’t they? Wish we were all better educated to do that convincing you mention!
amna yes, I’d go for creativity over perfection any day. I wouldn’t always have said so, but I definitely would make that choice now
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WoW, what a beautiful and spectacular poem, Joanna! I loved the way you described the stone seat, it’s very touching indeed…
Wilson oh I’m not sure it’s spectacular at all… but I’m glad you liked it