On Writing Good, and Not Writing Bad

I use the expression in the title (or variants of it) fairly regularly, but I wanted to expand upon the concept a little more in this blog post, mostly so I have something to link to in the future.

"Write Good, Don't Write Bad" is a simple five word phrase. I won't claim to have coined it or the concept, but I think it's one of the more important lessons a novice writer can learn.

Take a few minutes to think of your favorite book (or movie, if you prefer). I'm sure if I asked, you'd be able to name several of your favorite moments in it, and go into detail on why you like them so much.

I'm also sure that if I asked, you would be able to tell me about at least one part you thought wasn't very good. Maybe you felt there was one scene that dragged a little (and perhaps you skip that part in re-reads), or there was a moment that you dislike for other reasons. Maybe there's even an entire character you don't like.

I bring this up to make the point that despite that part, you still consider the overall work one of your favorites.

So, when you're writing your own stuff, why on earth are you trying to make it perfect?

This is not about grammatical mistakes, or spelling errors, or basic plot failures like forgetting character names. Those are things you should do your best to fix prior to publishing, which for most of you means you'll get about 95% of them fixed and have to accept that a few will slip through. If you're lucky, readers (or if you're really lucky, pre-readers) will point them out and get you closer to 100%.

No, this is about the writers who spend far too much time agonizing over trying to achieve something that isn't possible.

You're going to write some mixed stuff. It's unavoidable. Not every word you put down will be perfect. If you're doing your job as a writer, even things you once thought were great might still lose their sheen eventually. My story Cadance the Unbroken, which is on over 1300 bookshelves here on FimFic and is comfortably in the top 1% of stories on the site by vote ratio, has things in it I'd love to change, even if I still think the story is fine overall.

And don't get me started on Twilight the Triumphant, which was the top story in the featured box when it was new and has almost 900 bookshelf entries alone. That story still gives me the twitches with all the problems it has.

But again, here's my point. I see a ton of problems with Twilight the Triumphant. Readers?

"Awesome third installment."
"Another enjoyable chapter!"
"Been waiting for this, and really enjoyed it when it came :)"

And perhaps most important, from someone who noticed some of the issues and was willing to point them out: "Additionally, I'd like you to keep in mind that in spite of what the long ramble may make you think that I really enjoyed reading this chapter of the small series you're making (even if I don't think it's quite on par with the last two) and I'm looking forward to reading the next part with bated breath."

I knew the story wasn't perfect when I published it. I also knew that I'd been working on it long enough that I'd hit a point where I could either release it as it was, imperfect but still getting the point across, or I could continue to drive myself mad and never finish it or the superior follow-up in Luna the Faithful.

In truth? I'm kinda glad it had problems, because if it hadn't, I doubt would I have written the soft sequel Let Me in, Twilight Sparkle, which is a story I'm damned proud of to this day.

And perhaps that's the key takeaway. You're not going to be perfect. But, unless you've violated the Don't Write Bad aspect of this maxim, it's not going to be the end of the world. People want entertainment. They want writers to give them a little escape from the world for a time, be that five minutes or five weeks or five months. As long as you give them that? They'll forgive you a few mistakes. Maybe you write a scene that's a little slow, or your Chapter Four is on the weak side. If your story is still good (not perfect!) overall? You'll be just fine.

And if you do publish a story that perhaps in hindsight isn't very good? Shake it off and write the next one, and commit to do better with it.

In closing, three words:

Real Artists Ship.