Thanks to it, I've never written many stories that were in development. That's because (until I knock it off) perfectionism makes me try to make the story perfect. As if there was such a thing. Any one also experiences this?
Yep! I have several stories I have started as well, but I will say this - I also have one done. It's not that I stopped being a perfectionist - Lord knows, I'll always be one. But the desire to finish - to say I had it done - was stronger than my desire to have the unacheivable. Perhaps you should map it out, gather a solid outline, brainstorm a bit, and then just launch in with the commitment that you've made as solid a start as you can, you are going to see it through, EVEN IF it isn't ideal. At least you recognize the problem - that is often the hardest part!
Oh, yeah, I hear ya! But I believe, while absolutely no final draft will suit everybody's opinion of perfection, perfectionism does have its place... it's just not at every sentence that peeks out trying to help make concrete the concept. Gah, it's like building a house of cards on a snoring sleeper's face!
I had this. My book has been rewritten dozens of times, and I dont just mean after Ive written the first couple of chapters. I managed to get to about 75,000 words and then go no this isnt good enough, and so I started again. It's taken me five years to get to the point where I am almost ready to send it off... I think in the end you just have to look at it rationally and go, 'this isn't perfect, but it's as close as I'm going to get.'
Actually, alot of people have this problem. I had it myself, but I still do it often since I improve from it and gain new ideas.
Actually, I'm the opposite. I can't write a story unless I'm writing it the absolute best that I can in the first place. Otherwise, it feels like an immense waste of time. Why write the thing if I'm not going to get it right, and give it my all, the first time? Anything else seems like laziness. Plus, if I find bugs in the story, I have to write or work them out while it's in progress else they might endanger the consistency of the plot. Waiting until I'm done with the writing before addressing such problems could spell disaster for me. Granted, 1. I'm not claiming this is perfection, it's just the best I can write it; and 2. most writers don't work like this. But I have to.
