I’ve never thought of myself as a perfectionist. I procrastinated, second guessed and doubted throughout most of my high school and college career.
“Was I writing about the right topic? Was I getting my point across? Will the professor like it?”
All these worries worked on my self-esteem until I ended up putting off the finished work until the night before. Sometimes, most-times, I worked well under pressure and created a cohesive and passionate piece of writing. In other instances the finished work reflected my lack of care in the project I was working on.
In that respect I’ve realized that when it comes to my writing I am a perfectionist. I want my work to match the level of importance, value and passion that I have inside to give it. I create so much expectation before my pen even hits the paper that I overwhelm myself with all the possibilities for failure.
I have so much invested in my novel that the very idea of creating a finished piece that’s less than stellar is unfathomable. I believe in this story. I want to see it thrive. But while I work diligently to perfect each chapter, each word and each transition it’s one more day not in the hands of readers.
Kelly Deeny 