After I finished my newest short story, I decided to take a couple days off before jumping back into codename: fairyland. I thought about the next scene I want to write, picturing it as I fell asleep. I could see it so clearly…
… but then doubt started to creep in.
Unfortunately, I’m a perfectionist, which can make it really hard for me to start (or in this case, restart) a story. It comes down to a simple fear: I’m worried that I’m going to fuck it up.
So, to move past that, I need to accept that it’s not going to be perfectly and exactly what I see in my head. That’s part of the beauty of telling a story: it will be different for every person. Because I believe that I’m not the person who finishes a story–
The reader is.
Each reader brings to a story their own experience, knowledge, frame of reference, etc. which makes the story a little different for everyone. To get over my fear of messing up a story, I’ve needed to consciously acknowledge that I will mess it up… for some people.
My stories won’t land with everyone. And that’s okay. Even if I’m someone’s favorite writer, I will probably write a story that that person doesn’t like. And that’s okay too.
This will be a short post today. Just a reminder to myself to keep writing, even if I’m scared.
