My Name is Lisa and I Write Crap

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I used to be so afraid of writing something horrible, that I wouldn't write anything at all. I'd have a half-hour or so to myself and instead of getting as much down as I could, I'd type, delete, retype and delete again. I had to have perfect sentences formed from perfect ideas. It didn't work.

It took me years to finally learn to just write anything. Even if it's crap (and it usually is first time around). But I'm finally OK with writing a crappy first draft. If it's still crap when I'm done, well, that's another problem all together.

I used to think, What if I died tomorrow and my family found this notebook full of god-awful first drafts? They'd think I was a terrible writer! If I can write only awesome sentences, they'll realize what talent I had and be sorry they didn't take more interest in my amazing stories...or something like that.

Anyway, now when I start writing a story (whether it's a novel or a screenplay) I just let myself go and write crap. I can always go back and edit the junk, but I can't edit a blank page.

Comments

Nicole said…
My composition professor had us read this article called Shitty First Drafts - it all about what you just posted. It helped me conquer my fear of writing and get over my "perfectionism"
February 11, 2010 at 10:47 AM
Raine Chasing said…
Glad I'm not the only person who suffers from "Perfectionism disorder". I still have an issue with editing while I'm writing and by the time I'm done with all the editing, I've completely lost my whole story idea. I'm getting better though. No more blank pages. :)

Great post!
February 11, 2010 at 12:25 PM
Lisa Miles said…
It's so hard not to edit yourself as you go. But I've found just getting it all down on the page right away (not matter how awful) gives me so much more to work with.
February 11, 2010 at 12:28 PM
Shannon O'Donnell said…
That's a great attitude to have - and exactly right! Thanks for following me at Book Dreaming. I love to meet new blog friends. :-)
February 11, 2010 at 5:22 PM
Lisa Miles said…
Thanks Shannon! It's great to meet you.
February 11, 2010 at 5:36 PM
StarfishMom said…
Hey there. We're foster parents in NY. Found your blog through the foster parents community board. Hope you don't mind if I follow along...
February 11, 2010 at 5:54 PM
Lisa Miles said…
Hi, not at all! Where in NY are you? We're in upstate.
February 11, 2010 at 5:55 PM
Unknown said…
Hi, Lisa! Thanks for stopping by my blog... I JUST wrote about this same thing!

Somehow, this WIP is the first time I have been ok with actually writing a first draft that is not perfect. It sounds so simple and makes so much sense, but just tell that to past-writer-me. Man, she was stubborn.

Writing a freer first draft feels so much better, doesn't it? :)

Lindsey
February 11, 2010 at 6:08 PM
Lisa Miles said…
Hi Lindsey, my current WIP will be my first one of just letting go, too. I'm looking forward to it!
February 11, 2010 at 6:09 PM
Christine Danek said…
Thank you for this. I am almost done my first draft and have had to learn to do this. I go back and start editing and my CP keeps telling me to finish it first. I know what I have written is crap and I can't wait to start editing but at least the bones are there.
Thanks for visiting my blog:)
February 11, 2010 at 6:15 PM
Michelle Gregory said…
exactly! thanks for stopping by beautiful chaos.
February 11, 2010 at 6:17 PM
Lorel Clayton said…
That is the best attitude. I'm most productive when I write half-asleep in the early morning. It's major crap, but it comes out uncensored and I get a lot done. Thanks goodness this isn't live and we can re-write!

BTW just discovered your blog and love it.
February 11, 2010 at 7:17 PM
Lisa Miles said…
Thanks Lorel!I used to follow Julia Cameron's advice of doing the Morning Pages and writing as soon as I woke up. I ended up getting some pretty funny stuff since I was still half-asleep. I should start it up again.
February 11, 2010 at 7:21 PM
Lisa Miles said…
Yay! Let's hear it for all of us crappy writers!
February 11, 2010 at 8:51 PM
Robyn Campbell said…
This use to be me! I was too afraid to write, to write. =)

Such a great post. And I'm glad to know others felt like that too.

I recently read, The Fire In Fiction by Donald Maass. It really helped me to grab hold of the editing process and writing in general.

Thanks so much for the follow. I look forward to reading your blog posts. I love what I have read so far. Great blog! =)
February 11, 2010 at 9:41 PM
Lisa Miles said…
Thanks Robyn! I'll have to check out that book.
February 11, 2010 at 9:45 PM
Kelly@ JustWrite said…
Thanks for visiting my blog, Lisa! I came over to have a look at yours and laughed out loud at the title of your post! It's so..liberating, right? I think when you have kids and are writing in small chunks or with someone asking you 32 times for milk, you are destined to write crap! But that's okay, we can work with crap, right??
February 11, 2010 at 10:04 PM
Lisa Miles said…
We can definitely work with crap! What other choice do we have? :)
February 11, 2010 at 10:17 PM
Tricia J. O'Brien said…
You are so right! And now I need to go fill up a blank page. ;)
February 11, 2010 at 10:55 PM
Luna said…
Great post! This is something I have continued to struggle with, but I'm just about there. Love the title...:)
February 11, 2010 at 11:08 PM
Rhonda said…
Great post. I still struggle with the need for perfection as I write. My inner editor is a persistent little bugger and sometimes my inner writer just can't overpower her! It's so frustrating. It's nice to know I'm not the only writer with those tendencies.
February 11, 2010 at 11:32 PM
Kristi said…
This felt like I could have written it myself!

Sometimes it honestly takes me longer to get through Chapter 1 than the entire rest of my book! I start back at the beginning to "refresh" my memory as to where I was and end up spending over an hours redoing everything I had done previously BEFORE writing anything new. Horrible habit. I'm getting better...I think.

Thanks for visiting my blog..I love meeting new people!
February 11, 2010 at 11:40 PM
Amy Holder said…
Great post - the title made me laugh out loud! I struggled with the same problem for so long. I think many writers are perfectionists at heart. But you're so right, you can revise crap...but you can't revise a blank page. I love this post and your blog! :)

Where in upstate are you from? I'm originally from the Rochester area. I still miss it at times!
February 12, 2010 at 12:17 AM
Guinevere said…
It's amazing how freeing it is to just relax and let yourself write something bad! Especially since a lot of times, our writing is not as terrible as we think it is in the moment. A lot of us have writers have no perspective when we're working, so we don't honestly know if we're writing crap or not!
February 12, 2010 at 12:35 AM
Keri said…
I've had the same thoughts. I've not really had a chance to 'prove myself' or my writing so I think that if people stumbled across my first drafts I would feel like I was in the danger zone...but a crappy first draft slaughters all of those people who say 'I want to write' but never do. So YAY for people who are motivated enough to write rubbish and patient enough to to somehow turn that into gold (or another marketable product that in my mind is SHINY =D) or just leave it if it doesn't work. Something good always happens... I wrote such scribble-some first drafts for NaNoWriMo last year and well...I haven't the nerve to look back on them yet - but I don't regret writing them for a minute, crap as they may be.♥
February 12, 2010 at 12:41 AM
Roxane B. Salonen said…
I just read a blog post the other day about embracing your inner suckness -- something to that effect. Reminds me of this post. And oh, how true it is! Like Shannon, I was happy to see you as a new follower, and glad to reciprocate!
February 12, 2010 at 12:48 AM
Bethany Wiggins said…
I think all first drafts are crap. That is what revising is for!
February 12, 2010 at 12:52 AM
KoooalaBurr said…
This is very true. I write crap all the time : / I've tried to edit my own papers, but that doesn't really work so I tend to get my other friends who are pretty good at writing to help me out.
February 12, 2010 at 1:03 AM
* said…
Lamott talks about this in "Bird by bird" -- she's quite frank about it and uses words I wouldn't around my small children.

Thanks for visiting my waffle house blog! Looking forward to getting to know you & your writings more!
February 12, 2010 at 1:24 AM
L. D. Nash said…
Hi Lisa and thanks for following my blog.
February 12, 2010 at 1:28 AM
Carla Gade said…
Great attitude! I write crap too!
February 12, 2010 at 1:39 AM
Mary Aalgaard said…
Great advice. Don't be afraid to write out the muck. Thanks for connecting with me!!
February 12, 2010 at 7:04 AM
Jennifer Shirk said…
Yes!! It's hard but I give myself permission to write crap, too.
It won't stay like that forever. :)
February 12, 2010 at 7:36 AM
Sherrie Petersen said…
Doing NaNo helped me get over the whole perfection problem. I still tend to obsess, especially over the beginning. But I'm getting better about just getting it down.
February 12, 2010 at 9:19 AM
Lisa Miles said…
YAY for so many crap-writing writers!!
I definitely want to do NaNo again next November. I wish it was more than once a year.
February 12, 2010 at 1:13 PM
Unknown said…
Let your crap flow freely:)
February 12, 2010 at 7:42 PM
Karen Harrington said…
It's nice to know that other writers, in fact most writers, feel this way. And it's an achievement when you take a draft to the "I wouldn't be mortified if I died and someone read this" stage. :) I know that's one of my personal guideposts that tells me if a piece is going to go the distance or not.
February 13, 2010 at 9:45 AM
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