The Perfectionist’s Impossible Rules Of Writing
By: Lana Graham
Tags: Rules, Perfectionism, Rules For Writing, Writing, Writing Tips

The Perfectionist’s Impossible Rules Of Writing

Are you a rule follower or do you break the rules with your writing?

Photo by Mark Duffel on Unsplash

When it comes to writing, I follow the rules, partly thanks to my perfectionist nature. In fact, I’m a ‘rule-follower’ in most of my daily life, but that’s a whole other story.

When I see a writer who is a ‘rule breaker’ I usually think one of two things (and it has to be two because two is a perfect, even number):

(a) They’re lazy

(b) They’re amazing

Let me explain.

(a) They’re lazy

When a writer blatantly ignores the rules of writing and forgets to put in a capital letter or writes could of instead of could have, I instantly assume they’re being lazy.

I get it, we’re all busy and sometimes we don’t have time to edit our work.

But that’s not good enough. Not for the perfectionist in me, anyway.

(b) They’re amazing

When a writer does all of the rule-breaking on purpose, I’m in awe of that person.

I secretly wish I could be like them but can’t seem to find the key to unlock my ‘inside the box’ thinking.

While I’m a fan of predictability in daily life, (routine is my best friend) I love being thrown out of my comfort zone when I read.

Whether it’s a writer breaking the fourth wall or creating a new language, I get excited when I read something new or unexpected.

But when it comes to writing my own words, I’m predictably a rule follower.

Therefore, I’ve created a set of rules so perfect they’re impossible to follow, but the anxious perfectionist in me can’t help but strive to abide by them.

The Perfectionist’s Impossible Rules Of Writing

Rule #1: You are not permitted to make a mistake

Not only do I err on the side of caution, but I try not to err at all.

That’s because failure is the worst possible outcome for the perfectionist within me, and:

Mistakes = Failure

There’s a little voice in my head telling me that mistakes are healthy, failure leads to growth, you need to make mistakes to learn. But then there’s a bigger voice in my head telling me that I’m not allowed to fail.

Because failure means I’m not perfect.

And if I’m not perfect then I’m not good enough.

It’s a terrible thought process, and when I’m in a calm, receptive state of mind I can see how silly it all sounds.

But when I’m anxious and have just failed at something, (no matter how big or small) then the voice telling me, “you’re not allowed to fail!” sounds perfectly rational and my reactions usually aren’t exactly perfect.

Rule #2: If you do happen to make a mistake, you must anxiously worry about it for at least 3 nights

When I submitted my first children’s manuscript to a publisher I felt a sense of relief that I’d finally taken the plunge to do it.

But that relief was soon replaced by dread when I realised I’d made not one mistake in the manuscript but several.

I wanted to email the publisher and tell them to ignore the mistakes. I didn’t.

I contemplated sending a revised draft and pretend that I’d sent them the wrong copy, but that went against all the advice I’d received about submitting your work to publishers.

It was supposed to be a polished manuscript, but I’d failed.

This led to sleepless nights because night-time seems to be when my brain goes through the worst possible scenarios.

It was useless to worry but at the time it’s how I chose to react.

The funny thing is the manuscript wasn’t that great even without the errors. It never got published and I wasted three nights worrying about nothing.

Rule #3: You must rewrite your work a minimum of 3 times

The delete key on my phone and laptop gets the most use. That’s because I’m constantly rewriting a sentence or paragraph.

I find a better way to say a sentence. Or I just hate the sound of what I’ve written and delete it all and start again.

The perfectionist in me tells me nothing is good enough, I need to rewrite until it’s perfect.

It’s hard not to listen to that niggling voice, but if I did then I’d never get anything written.

Rule #4: Nothing is good enough. You must edit your work meticulously

Once I manage to get an article written, and then rewritten, it’s time to start the intense editing process.

This usually takes three times as long (there’s that number three again, why can’t it be a perfect number two?) to complete than actually writing an article or manuscript.

Removing redundant words, (my overused ones are “that” and “just”) fixing spelling mistakes, (autocorrect doesn’t pick up the difference between, “their,” “they’re,” and “there”) and making sure the piece flows are essential aspects of editing that take a while to do.

The editing process is usually a bit easier than the rewriting process, as there are (finally) words on the page.

As much as it’s time-consuming, I secretly enjoy the editing process. It makes me feel as though I’m achieving something (perhaps by trying to perfect my work?)

Rule #5: Always worry about what other people think

I’ve finally published my work and it’s time to sit back and relax.

Wrong.

Now it’s time for the worry and anxiety to hit their peak.

Especially when people give negative feedback or reviews, I fall apart.

I need to find a way to put myself together and remind myself I’m not perfect. I never will be. And that’s ok. That’s human.

Rewriting the rules

I am good enough and I need to keep moving forward.

I need to keep writing. Don’t give in to the self-critic. Don’t worry so much about what other people think. Those who love you will love you regardless of whether you’re a good or bad writer.

Enjoy the journey and never give up.

You are good enough.