Hello Perfection? It's Jen Calling. I'd Like My Sanity Back Please

You know what's great? That moment when you sit down at your computer (or maybe go old school with a pen and paper) and start writing that absolutely, perfect idea and the angels sing and chorus because perfection is spreading out from your fingers like-

Oh what's that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of my daydream.

The above is pretty much what my non-writer friends seem to think book writing is about. Ha, I tell them, hahahahahahahaha. Yeah right. Problem is, somewhere along the way I fell into the trap that there's actually a perfect idea out there and that until I find it I don't really have to finish novels or stay attached to any other idea. Because once my perfect idea comes along, well, then everything will be dandy. First ever novel completed? Done. Having absolutely no writer's block the whole time? Totally done. The words being so awesome I barely need to rewrite? Absolutely.

Back in the day I was just a bit...uninformed shall we say?

Because that's the thing. There is absolutely no perfect idea. It doesn't exist. Oh don't get me wrong, there are ideas that are way better than others and some that are going to seem beautiful to writers because they just give us giddy butterflies. But, none of them are perfect. Frankly, waiting around for that perfect idea is kind of worthless. What do you do in that time? How many projects are dropped for the seemingly perfect idea that came along and turned out not to be perfect?

As a matter of fact, that's what I'm going through right now. I've got the idea, but it's the first chapter that's deciding to kick my butt. Nothing seems "right". I must have rewritten it...five times at least, and it's only been a few weeks. In fact, I'm so caught up in the perfection aspect of the first chapter I haven't even made it to 1k yet.

In short, I kind of suck. But I'm also in a great position to give advice. *Claps hands* See, what an author needs to realize is even if they don't think their idea is perfect, even if they think an idea's lame and there's a shiny, better idea just waiting for them, well, the thing is, someone's going to find your story perfect.

Really.

There is at least one person out there who will find that story perfect. And I know, there's the whole "write for yourself" thing and that is important, but you know what else is? Knowing that out there, just like that soulmate some people think exist, there's a person who's eagerly awaiting a book like yours. So write that book, and smile at the rough edges and imperfections, because those are what make up the beauty of the book.

Keep on writing on,

Jen