: Re: The psychology of finishing a piece of fiction I have a psychological oddity when it comes to my own writing (particularly fiction, and particularly longer work). Obviously it may just be a

@Annie587

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I know, I know, I quote Anne Lamott a lot on here. But it’s because she has an answer for everything!

She says that:

“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people.
It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life.”

Like @Amadeus , she also says that you should edit your work as if a friend (a child is good too) wrote it, and be as kind to yourself as you would be to that friend.

I felt exactly the same way over my first novel. I laboured through that love and hate as it rollercoastered from week to week, editing it half to death on days when I thought it was utter crap, and polishing parts that got cut down the line on days I thought it was great. The idea of sending out my work to anyone unedited filled me with dread and I didn’t let anyone read it until it was polished.

What I didn’t realise is that WE are not to be trusted. WE cannot see the wood for the trees in our own work. We have our darlings and we have those characters we aren’t sure of etc. etc. And a lot of what I thought was great, other readers hated and vice-versa. I ended up cutting work that I'd already edited dozens of times.

So, I don’t do that anymore. It’s a waste of time. Doubt is (inevitable but) a waste of time. Now, as soon as I type, “The End” I get it straight out to a group of readers I trust with my life, letting them know it’s a very rough draft.

The time it takes for them to read is a good break away from the novel. It gives me time to stop thinking about it, stop torturing myself with whether it’s good or bad, time to catch up with friends I haven’t seen for months during the draft.

Then, when the feedback comes, I can look at the work with a balanced view. I get verification over the parts I knew in my heart weren’t working. I get surprises when all the readers agree on one part I thought I’d made a mess of. And I get a thrill when something I felt confident about resonated with everyone.

So, my advice would be, stop torturing yourself. Stop worrying about whether it’s good or bad. Whatever’s bad can be fixed! Congratulate yourself on finishing a book - one hell of an achievement - and get it out there! Trustworthy readers can hold your hand through your psychological oddity!

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