How do I overcome my compulsive perfectionism? Instead of writing something imperfect, I end up writing nothing at all...

How do I overcome my compulsive perfectionism? Instead of writing something imperfect, I end up writing nothing at all. I know that it's completely irrational. I'm looking for practical solutions.

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Read Stirner. Realize perfection is a spook.

Get drunk before writing.

I was just about to say this.

Perfectionism is a form of procrastination

>I know that it's completely irrational
If I felt it could be reasoned out of, I would. This is behavioural, which is why I asked for practical solutions, not more navel gazing ones.

I really don't want to become a filthy degenerate or need a crutch for my work but this is one of the most pragmatic suggestions I've ever seen. I'm almost certain this will produce results. Maybe I can transition to sober after I've gotten over myself a little.

Still open to healthier options...

Isn't this just a tautology? Not really a solution.

you probably just need to grow up a bit and realize your 'perfectionism' is just a just a convenient excuse so you don't realize you don't have anything interesting to say, probably from lack of experience.

also you must not write at all not to realize editing is 90% of the game.

>grow up a bit
>lack of experience
Maybe I would have accepted this reason in my early twenties but not ten years later.

>realize you don't have anything interesting to say
Huh, not really. I can and frequently do talk, for hours and hours and hours, within the topics I write about.

>also you must not write at all not to realize editing is 90% of the game.
Actually I do realise that. The problem really is that I'm trying to edit too early. It's hard for me to even write one paragraph without adjusting it a thousand times, then throwing it away later.

>Maybe I would have accepted this reason in my early twenties but not ten years later.
Age doesn't matter if you didn't grow emotionally. There was shit I should have done years ago that I could only do now just because 'I didn't want to'. You want an excuse you will find it. You want a reason to get started? You'll find it.
>Huh, not really. I can and frequently do talk, for hours and hours and hours, within the topics I write about.
>write one paragraph
Then you're not writing you're worrying over your words. You need to help yourself do this shit.
I got over my perfectionism by writing a purposely shit story now I have a blog and spent all morning writing posts and shit I'm proud of(even if I shouldn't be), what do you have?

>writing a purposely shit story
I think this might be the solution. Thanks.

Good luck niglet
Post it in a crit thread so I can laugh at you

Write drunk, edit sober

>editing is 90% of the game
Dilettante bs.

Just don't write if you don't feel like it.

You are not obliged.

This was true for me at the very lest; I kept trying to start thing at perhaps the most logical point without having anything there interesting to say, and what came out of it was this 'perfectionism' thing you were talking about. For me, I was constantly either finding what I was writing completely uninspiring and so restarting, or looking for some quiet lyrical flair which would give it purpose even if it was dull to me (which I rarely found).

For me I fixed it a couple ways: just gritting my teeth and saying fuck it, i'll just write trash to get the practical bit out the way, at the very least something interesting will come out to build on or I can recontextualise the important parts in more interesting prose. Otherwise, I tended just to skip the tedium, especially if its fiction, and instead focus on a scene that interested me, if I needed to go back to that part I was stuck on before at least I was more comfortable in that tone. Other than that, I just forced myself to a certain word-limit then went for a thorough edit to satisfy both itches.

I recommend creating things in other mediums and seeing what your tendencies are.

My own revelation came with playing Super Mario Maker recently. It can be a weirdly daunting game, given that you can make any kind of level your imagination allows (well, until you unlock all the tools; until then, your palette is more limited, but you still have freedom to be as weird as you want).

I had played it a bit, but I found myself overthinking and really doubting my creative skills. I'd only play for small spurts, before getting too disappointed with my creations. And all over what's essentially a kids' game!

So, I went back to the basics and tried to make levels that were fun for me to play. I always loved the movement in Mario games (particularly SMB3), so I tried to focus on creating levels that would make for free, exciting movement.

Notably, by other people's standards, these new levels wouldn't be ideal (not many enemies; not many coins; etc.). But from my own perspective, these were fun. More importantly, I stopped getting stuck so often and was finishing these "first drafts" of levels more and more.

And I realized it was a lot easier to approach these levels from other standards/eyes when I was done making them just for me, rather than incorporating all that pressure from the beginning.

I think the same concept applies to writing. The problem, of course, is that I knew MUCH less about videogame level design than I know about writing -- hence, it's a lot easier to say "screw the rules" to level design because the rules/tropes are less ingrained in me. Writing is a different beast, in that other people's ideas/rules about writing are bound to affect you.

But (and this is also a tl;dr) you just have to trust your taste -- and only YOUR taste -- more.

Bump. Thanks for replies so far.

>Isn't this just a tautology?
Because it's informative, no--it's just a platitude

This app was made for people just like you, OP. Try using it daily.
themostdangerouswritingapp.com/

use a writing prompt generator
seventh sanctum is good for this purpose
you have to write a thousand words on the prompt before you can start on your own project
don't bother making it good at all
write it like one of those i got pounded in the ass by a hitler t-rex
like I just got a writing prompt
>my lover is the ocean
so that would be a thousand words about how I got pounded in the ass by the ocean
it's not your actual project
it is just something that must be accomplished before you are able to work on your project that day

ah i guess someone already posted similar idea should have read the whole thread

Practice technique then try and learn it's ok to be disappointed.

This is really hard, doing it myself.

>I end up writing nothing at all.
But that's good since you're very unlikely to write anything good. Remember that bad art is an affront to God.

Alcohol