Maggie Thom's Blog - Posts Tagged "robert-ludlum"

When we put something out for the first time, we are so concerned with it being just right. With everything being as it should be. The way we've been taught... trained... We are so concerned about what others think. Yet when we were children it was okay to just try, it didn't matter the outcome. It didn't matter what others thought because more often than not we would be encouraged. It was that we were doing it and it would get better with time. Or at least I think that's what the hope was.

So now the question is, what is perfect? Everyone has a different definition of what this means. And to be honest it can become an excuse not to move forward. I know because I used it a lot. I mean my stuff couldn't be perfect... because I can't write like authors like Sandra Brown, Robert Ludlum... because others were giving me suggestions of what they thought should be in there... just because... So to translate, that meant something had to be wrong with it... it couldn't be worthy of others.

There is no such thing as perfect. I know I've read books by authors I love and sometimes they get it right and sometimes they don't, at least for me. Yet someone else will love what they've put out there. The point is that they didn't wait for perfect, they published it.


Perfect is a myth. There is a point where I had a decision to make, take the leap or keep wishing and wanting. To get really good at something, we have to step into it... try it... learn it... grow with it. Because we learn by doing, not by thinking about something but by actually doing it. We really have no idea until we get into something what it's really about or how it will be received.

Here's what I've learned: I love what I'm doing; what I write isn't for everyone; I do put in a lot of time to make sure that what I write makes sense, flows, doesn't have plot holes... but here's the kicker... none of it's perfect. It sure isn't in my eyes, anyway. Every time I open one of my stories, Captured Lies, Tainted Waters, Deceitful Truths or any of the new ones I'm writing, I always think or see a better way of telling it. But at some point I had to stop doing that and decide that it was good, that it was okay to put it out there

In fact, don't tell anyone but I really like my stories. There are things that I would and do differently each time I write but I actually quite enjoy creating them and reading them. Because I read a lot and because I put a lot of time into planning out and plotting my stories, I know I've put my best effort into them. And if I like reading them, I'm sure there has to be at least one other person who does. :) Thankfully, I have found many who really love what I write.

So for anyone who is thinking of starting a new adventure in life, want to follow your dreams, jump into it - just make sure its for the right reasons and for you. I know when I leapt into publishing Captured Lies, I had no clue what I was doing or getting into. I know that if I'd waited any longer for things to be perfect I'd never have done it. And believe me that took a long time to get there but I now wouldn't have two well-received published novels with a third one out soon.

My advice... leap. You never know what's on the other side until you try it. While there truly is no such thing as perfect... you will grow into better.

An aside: a good example of perfect, as I'm writing I put leapt which wordpress didn't like so I had to look it up. I was worried that I had forgotten how to spell and wondering if that really was a word. Yes it's a word and yes it's spelled correctly. The English language continues to change (and baffle me) and with all the different countries claiming ownership as to what's correct and not, there is no way you'll get it right for everyone. :) So do it for you.

Original Post: http://wp.me/p2ydBl-yy