Kia ora,
I half-arse many things in life: styling my hair, cooking dinner, gardening. With just a bit more effort, I could take those things from good enough to oh, wow! But I’m (mostly) fine with half-arsing them.
One thing I don’t half-arse: my job. I’d be a terrible editor if I did that. But editing is what I genuinely enjoy, so I whole-arse my work.
It’s so satisfying to see a story that’s been months in the writing come together and really flow well. I get a sneak peek at what readers are going to experience. What a job! Plus, I get emotionally invested in you and your story. I want the best for your story, so I put in a lot of effort to do it the justice it deserves.
I’m googling dates and spellings to make sure they’re accurate. I’m checking which month the harvest festival you went to took place so the seasons are correct. I’m thinking over ways of making descriptions stronger and the narrative deeper. And if anyone is going to get thrown into a crisis over commas, it should be me, not you.
I don’t settle for good enough.
But my attention to detail doesn’t mean you should half-arse your writing. Given the amount of time, effort, money, and resources you put into writing the book, why settle for good enough? If you want people to spend hours with your story, respect that time and whole-arse your writing. Put everything you can into it and make it the best it can be.
There will come a point in the writing process where you think, eh, good enough. It usually happens as you’re writing and revising. You get a scene or chapter as good as you can get it, so you move on to the next scene. Once you’ve got as much of the story as good as you can get it – once you’ve reached your eh, good enough stage – then you can get outside input from trusted friends or editors. They’ll help you take the text from eh, good enough to wow, this is looking great!
Readers might not know or appreciate just how much effort goes into writing a book, but when you whole-arse it, you’re giving them a fantastic reading experience. You’re taking them along with you as you recount your journey. You’re immersing them in all the joys and struggles you experienced along the way. You’re letting them into your psyche so they can feel what you felt.
So don’t settle for eh, good enough or half-arsing it. I know the writing process has those hard moments where you just want to be done. But keep going, keep pushing through, keep writing. Keep revising. Your readers will thank you.
If you’ve reached the eh, good enough stage, let’s talk. I can help figure out what your next steps should be, and I can show you what a difference whole-arsing your writing will do to your story.
Cheers,
Deborah
PS: Next week I’ll talk about a related feeling: I am done. It’s pretty much the opposite of eh, good enough, but just as important.
PPS: Did you know that when you purchase books directly from Michael Palin’s website, you can ask him to write a dedication and sign them? I’m now the proud owner of Himalaya and Sahara, signed by Michael.
📚 What I’m reading
Silverland: A Winter Journey Beyond the Urals by a legend of the genre, Dervla Murphy. Dervla sure has some Strong Opinions (on everything from bicycle helmets to home births to climate change). I don’t agree with all her takes, but I love reading them all the same. She knows how she feels and she’s not afraid to say it.
📅 Availability
Booking projects from September. Get in touch if you want a sample edit so you can see what editing can do for your story.
One response to “Eh, good enough”
[…] Last week I talked about whole-arsing your writing and not settling for eh, good enough. (If you missed it, catch up here.) […]