Wednesday 15 August 2007

The Sh*tty First Draft

One of the best things I try to do to help me solve problems and be a creative thinker - is to give myself permission to screw up the first time I have a go at something.

Coherence and Brilliance come from Revision
Anne LaMott calls this her "Shitty First Draft", identifying that tight final versions come from really poor first and second drafts. She gives herself permission to take a hack at the first paragraph she needs to write and is happy to accept that its not going to be a masterpiece the first time round.

I think its really helpful to bear this in mind and not feel forced to have a perfect solution from the outset. So often I find people stalled, coming to me with project problems because the solution isn't there in front of them from the outset. Because they don't have the perfect solution, they are wielded to the spot, unwilling to just see where things take them.

My advice:
Just start walking and see where you end up.
Chances are it's probably a better place than where you were standing when you realised you first had the problem.

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