The Creative Magic of Lowered Expectations

Trivia time! Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man: What do these two books have in common?

Done?

They are the only novels the authors ever published. And the writers have become synonymous with their works. The same can be said for Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray), J.D. Salinger (The Catcher in the Rye), and Anna Sewall (Black Beauty).

One could make the argument that the space between being an unknown writer and becoming a memorable literary name is the length of exactly one book's spine.

It only takes one, right?

This begs a particular question: Have we writers been seduced by the belief that we must suffer until we find the single project that will launch us to stardom?

The Situation

Envision this: You sit at your desk to work on your novel. It’s a ritual of sorts now. But how could it not be? You’ve been whiling away at this project for years. Every time you think you’re close to completion, a new theme pops into your head that you want to explore in this story. Or you realize the diction throughout isn’t quite precise enough. Or there’s a different format the story could take. So you keep turning the words over, reworking, remixing, reinventing. There are still corners of this world left to explore, and you’re sure that when the project’s ready, you’ll know. When it’s perfect, you’ll know.

Does this sound like you?

The Problem

Our minds might tell us that if we’re going to do anything, it’s worth doing right. So we spend eons honing word choice and adding chapters and developing yet another layer of meaning to our story. Why? Because we believe we have to do it all–and do it perfectly–in order to make progress. In order for our work to matter.

We’ve also heard how hard publishing is. Agents are exhausted, juggling current clients, publisher submissions, and their slush pile. With such limited bandwidth, their standards for new clients are high by necessity. But the anxiety continues even after the right agent is found. Those who succeed in acquiring a traditional publishing deal might only get one book. There’s a lot riding on that story, and the pressure can lead to fiddling with the details for ages before you take the next steps in your publishing journey. It makes sense if you're worried you'll only get one shot to wow everyone, if you get that shot at all.

While this stress might motivate some, it can also prove creatively stifling. How do you brainstorm interesting solutions and clever twists when you're wholly focused on the nebulous concept of perfection? How do you dig into the nuanced messiness of your characters when you’re worried that one tiny thing out of place will have you instantly rejected by every agent to which you submit?

These high expectations also create stories that don’t feel organic. They’re often overstuffed with superfluous elements, things writers believe “should” be in their story because “that’s what you do.” The original idea–the seed that grew the entire tale–suffocates. The story suffers, and in the bid to create work that is without fault, writers accidentally build narratives that meander and buckle under their own weight. That’s the bind: the pressure of expectation can actually create subpar storytelling.

Here’s the truth: No project is your One Project™

While this might not feel like truth yet, you do hold a lifetime of stories. There will (hopefully) be time to write another one. And that story will be a vast improvement from last year’s. And next year’s? Your best yet. You will always learn, improve, and grow.

Which is why it’s freeing to know you aren’t defined by any one book. Unlike Emily Brontë, Ralph Ellison, and many other one-bookers, you have the opportunity to do more.

Take the pressure off. Let your current WIP be whatever it needs to be. And know that it doesn’t have to be your masterpiece, your magnum opus, your flawless creation.

Have faith in yourself that there’s more to give.

Later.

Now, none of this means writers shouldn’t put effort into their stories. Make the strongest plot you can. Develop your characters with wisdom. Flesh out the world until it’s a character of its own. And run spell check, please!

But the fight for perfectionism will kill the creative spirit and wipe out momentum. This single story doesn’t have to become ALL of the stories you have.

Let it breathe so YOU can breathe.