Excuses, Explanations, and Extensions

Draft after draft, I have a hard time figuring out what’s good enough to publish.
By Pavel Konoplenko

It’s been over two months since I last wrote a blog post. It’s not because I was lazy or had no material. On the contrary, it’s the opposite of that (although that may simply be something I tell myself to feel better).

I have been writing content almost daily, and have copious amounts of drafts at the ready. Yet every time I sit down to publish something, I wind up deciding to write and publish something new, and something better. This plan is almost fool-proof except that I never actually get around to publishing it.

Sometimes I think the best solution to publish is to stop worrying about perfecting the draft, and simply get it out there. After all, it’s better to have a post with a few minor mistakes than no post with zero mistakes. With time and habituation, I’ll be able to publish drafts without giving myself extensions.

Another problem is that I attempt to write about ideas that I find deep, complex, and interesting. Every time I wind up writing, I find myself wanting to write more in-depth, thinking that the original draft was only scratching the surface. This leads to a never-ending pursuit of ideas, akin to a rant than a coherent post.

Sometimes I simply want to write about a different topic. I like the creative challenge of having to come up with something new on the spot as I sit down. I wind up ignoring the drafts I already have and write two more drafts that probably won’t ever be looked at by me for a while.

I excuse this behavior in myself and fail to have the self-discipline needed to make this a habit. Fortunately, failure is never final nor fatal. Explaining away the behavior won’t correct it. Making excuses won’t get my writing published. The only thing that can work is time, effort, and focus.

I truly enjoy writing; I enjoy the creative flair necessary, the mental exercise, and the streamline of thoughts and ideas that I experience when I write. I enjoy feeling the tinge of pride looking back at a published post. I have to remind myself of these things and push forward. Every day is a new chance for me; not only for writing but for new experiences, thoughts, and ideas. I just have to stop being reluctant to capture them.

 

P.S. Although in my defense I haven’t exactly been doing zero writing. I have been writing for my company blog that we recently launched, and have been contributing posts to my side project, The Culture LP.

 

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  • http://www.caseypalmer.com/ Casey E. Palmer

    I 100% agree with this right here, Pavel; this is where I was for ages, constantly in a spin cycle trying to sort out what I was really trying to say. I have pages and pages of half-written content, all close to being what it is that I want to articulate, but not close ENOUGH.

    In my latest post, “Long Live the http://bit.ly/T7mgS0), I recount a recent dinner I had with an old buddy of mine where he basically pointed out that a lot of the problems that people with many ideas have stems from their failure to start. You imagine what you want something to look like in the end, but fail to accept that it won’t get there overnight. So you don’t put beta versions out while you’re working bugs out. You don’t accept that it might not be anything at first, but constant tinkering will eventually get it there.

    And that shift in mentality is the first step to just getting everything out of your system and making some changes out there in the world.

    (It also helps if you know what method works best for you to get your ideas out. For me, it’s writing blog posts on Post-It Notes — I find that a letter-sized blank page can be subconsciously overwhelming, and the fact that the Post-It Note is a miniature canvas and inherently disposable seems to help me just crank stuff out at an ALARMING rate! Loving it!)

    –case p.

    • http://thenovel.me/ Pavel Konoplenko

      Thanks for the comment Casey! You’re this blog’s MVP lol.

      And thanks for the support – It’s liberating to know that I’m not the only one and that it’s possible to overcome this.

      I love what your friend said. I think that’s what ultimately my fear is; I keep putting off posting because I am afraid to accept my own shortcomings as expressed to subpar blog posts. Yet you can’t publish good posts without having the growing pains of shitty posts. I just gotta keep pushing it out man.

      Freaking amazing idea of post it notes. I’m sure it makes it easier to structure your posts that way. All your main ideas are there.

      Hmm I have an idea. Stay tuned for my next post.

      • http://www.caseypalmer.com/ Casey E. Palmer

        I’m telling you, bro. Post-it Notes are totally the way to go. I use an oversized pad (4″ x 6″) and just basically go crazy, getting ideas out until I feel like I’ve said what I wanted to say. I naturally edit as I type it in for flow and coherence, but it’s a REALLY good system for me :)

        It’s definitely a long path, but the more you just push at it, the better you’ll get and the less work it ends up being in the future.

        Looking forward to seeing your future stuff!

        –case p., MVP