Someone: Can I Be A Character In Your Book??

is there anything more satisfying as a writer than dropping the title of your wip in your wip?

Overcoming Perfectionism

Writing sprints

One of my biggest problems as a perfectionist and a writer is editing while I write. It slows me down way too much. Objectively, I know that grammar and spelling don’t matter in the first draft, but my inconsiderate brain is trained to argue that it does matter. If you spend more time fixing your typos than writing, then the best solution is to just do a writing sprint. 

It’s pretty self-explanatory: set a timer and then write for a certain amount of time. The goal of a writing sprint is to write as many words as possible in the time you have. Your writing does not have to be perfect. Let me repeat that: Your writing does not have to be perfect. The whole point of a writing sprint is to churn out words. Whether they’re “good” words is something to worry about later. If you still find yourself returning to that perfectionist mindset, then put your writing out of view for a while and take your mind off it.

First Draft Perfectionism Syndrome

Yes, I’ve decided to give this a name: First Draft Perfectionism Syndrome, or FDPS for short. If you’re on the first draft--I feel your pain. It’s tempting to make the first draft as neat as possible so you have less work to do later on. That’s the way it works, right? Well, yes and no. 

Yes, you might save yourself work later, but at what cost? You’ll be constantly obsessing over the tiny details and slowing yourself down. A first draft is supposed to be messy. It’s one big brain dump for the main structure and ideas of your story. It should not be of a published quality. That comes many drafts later. The first draft is all about just getting your ideas down.

Having fun with writing

Writing isn’t supposed to be a chore, but perfectionism can often make it seem like one. If you’re not having fun with your writing, take a step back and ask yourself why. If you’re not enjoying yourself, is it because of you, your idea, or both? Pinpoint the problem and then think of ways to solve it. Writing is supposed to be fun, not something to dread.

The perfectionist standard

Many times, perfectionists hold themselves to a standard of perfection. But what is perfect in writing? Good grammar and spelling? The complete absence of plot holes? Flowing and unstilted dialogue? Trying to have all of these qualities and more is simply unachievable. Every single published work out there has some kind of flaw. Your favorite media most likely has flaws, but does that make you completely hate it? No! So don’t burn yourself out trying to reach a standard that is literally unreachable. Your writing is not defined by its flaws. You might look at your writing and only see flaws, but another person won’t read your writing the same way.

Better done than perfect

It’s really important to remember that in the end, all that matters is that you have something. You can edit “garbage,” but you can’t edit a blank page. So don’t be afraid to show up. It’s okay to feel like your writing is bad and it’s okay to be imperfect. Every single writer ever has felt this way. If they haven’t, they’re probably lying. Honestly, I’d be extremely worried if a writer said that they think their first draft was ready for publication. It’s not. And that is more than okay.

You know. Reading is important. Because I'm like always trying to make every line I write this groundbreaking mindfucking art but like. A book is 90% just saying what happened. "I hugged him around the waist." "The chair was brown and overstuffed." "I woke up alone." Etc etc. Like normal ass lines. I just keep comparing my boring, necessary to set a scene lines, with famous authors' absolute best lines and like.... every line doesn't have to shatter the earth. Sometimes someone just sits in a chair and the lines that wreck you come later, one at a time, here and there. It's alright.

shoutout to all the people who write contemporary, romance, mystery, crime, thriller, horror, paranormal, dystopia, nonfiction, and any other genres I’m forgetting! i know you guys don't get as much attention as fantasy or sci-fi in the writing community, but you're just as valuable and talented, and i appreciate all of you!

love when authors get so into the story they’re writing that they end up just being like yeah this is twice what i originally planned, gonna add a whole new story arc, gonna add a whole new book to the series

The moment a character realises they've been betrayed vs the moment a character realises they're going to betray someone, fight!

How to Write the “Gifted” Kid

Intro

First, I apologize for the slightly misleading title when this is also a thinly veiled excuse to rant about being said “gifted” kid. But I also do want to touch on this topic because it’s something I’m familiar with, having seen it in many other people my age. The irony of the system I’ve seen and experienced is that it’s meant to push us up, but instead far more often pulls us down.

Note: I think the idea that people are more gifted than others is complete nonsense, therefore I have placed it in quotation marks in the title. I will not be using the quotations throughout the entire post; however, please assume they are there, just invisible.

Remember too, that this is my experience, and a lot of these are my opinions; you may have had a different experience, and that is also completely valid!

Pressure

“Gifted” kids are often singled out at a young age by the education system. Usually they have desirable qualities like good memorization, determination, and curiosity. Sometimes they’re chosen by their school to take part in a “gifted and talented” program or something similar. The result is that they grow up with a lot more pressure on them to do well in school, and later on, life. They are expected to achieve high and aim for success, all with relatively little effort because they’re “gifted.”

But as they grow older, they become more insignificant as the number of gifted kids increases, and suddenly they’re struggling to compete with a dozen other people at any given time.

And speaking of grades, that’s another thing gifted kids focus on. A lot of gifted kids end up connecting their self-worth to their grades, which eventually leads to low self-esteem, mental exhaustion and low mental health, and burnout.

Perfectionism

Another effect of being a gifted kid is growing up believing that you have to be perfect. This often leads to a huge fear of failure and/or disappointment. 

Perfectionism has always been a huge issue for me. When I check my grades, I get a cold, almost nauseous feeling from the anticipation. I cry when I don’t understand a lesson the first time because I expect myself to be perfect. I hate not being good at something the first time I do it. It’s terrible and it’s irrational, but it’s a habit, and a hard one to break, at that.

Not all gifted kids are perfectionists, but it’s a common trait. You probably know that one kid who complains about getting an A minus or some other grade that’s still good. That’s the gifted perfectionist, on a bit of an exaggerated level.

Gifted kids are held to a much higher standard, and I believe that’s what causes the perfectionism in the first place. Our identities are tied to our success. If other people aren’t satisfied with us, we aren’t satisfied with ourselves. If we make mistakes, we become them. It’s a vicious cycle that’s difficult to break out of, but unfortunately, it’s a reality for many.

Academic career

(Disclaimer: A lot of what I say here applies to the United States. If you live in another country, I would be interested to hear about what the typical “gifted” academic career looks like!)

Gifted kids frequently take honors classes, AP classes, or IB classes in their academic career, and usually more than one at any given time. Also, note that College Board, which runs AP and a bunch of other tests and classes, is regarded as a scam and a rip-off by most people, and it’s something of a running joke among AP students. I’m not going to dip into that discourse here, but I do believe that exams are very expensive and the grading scale is designed to be deliberately detail-oriented and harsh.

All of this is to say; gifted kids spend most of their early lives learning to build toward their future. A frequent problem is, though, that it’s not a future they’ve chosen for themself. I’ve chosen it, but there are plenty who haven’t, or people who want to escape it and can’t.

Burnout and motivation

All of this can lead to declining mental health and self-esteem and close connections. “Gifted kid burnout” is a common condition as gifted kids get older. They work themselves to the point of exhaustion, and use coping mechanisms such as old childhood/comfort hobbies or fandoms. Another popular coping mechanism is procrastination.

Often at this point, productivity sharply tumbles, and the gifted kid is left wondering why they can’t seem to summon any of their old achievements and success. This may bring them to a loss of motivation and increased apathy towards life.

Why it’s problematic

The entire concept of “gifted” kids is designed to benefit only a select few, and then then, after the system is done with them, I wouldn’t call those few “benefited.” And what about those who aren’t deemed gifted? Are they average? Below-average? The system is divisive and discriminatory, and it needs to be reworked.

Gifted kids are also forced into competition, both with others and themselves. Their careers become a race against their own productivity and success. And when that fails, they’re left with the dregs of their mental health.

Outro

Hardly any of this was actual writing advice, but I hope some of it was useful, or at least eye-opening. This may not be the most important issue out there, but it is certainly one of the most common ones. When you're writing a gifted kid character, keep these things in mind. Thank you for reading!

Unpopular opinion: not everything that makes you uncomfortable is bad. Sometimes discomfort means your worldview is being challenged. It’s okay to sit with discomfort and think about where it’s coming from.

“There is rage in me the likes of which should never escape.”

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Art: Gust of Wind (La Bourrasque) Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer 1896