Hi Everyone,
How many of you ask yourself on a regular basis: is it good enough? We apply the question to both the large and small stuff in our lives. Maybe you ask yourself whether the holiday meal you’ve planned, shopped and prepared for the family is good enough. Or the birthday gift you finally found for that “hard to buy” person will be as perfect for them as you think it is. Or the manuscript you’ve been working on all year, is good enough for publication? The answer, who the hell knows. And if you’re anything like me, it’ll never be good enough. But it will be done!
I can remember when I was in college, I would spend days and days working on a research paper for class. I’d write and rewrite until I was blue in the face. And then, every single time, I’d finally reach a point when I’d say, the hell with it, I don’t care if it’s good enough. I’m done. But that was never really true. I secretly prayed it was good enough, I’d just reached my saturation point. Maybe that is when it’s good enough, Maybe it’s when you know you’ve done the best you can.
Now let’s look at it from a slightly different angle. Writers continuously question themselves. It’s the hazard of the trade. Making your private thoughts public is difficult in and of itself. We think that if the reader doesn’t like it, it must not be good enough. But that’s not true. I have read authors that are exceptional, they write circles around me. Their prose are masterful. I acknowledge their superb writing abilities. But no matter how well they write, if the story doesn’t move me, or draw me in, then it just doesn’t work. Which begs the question, what is good enough? Then take a writer who’s perfunctory in their story telling, gets straight to the point, moves the narrative along fluidly, and weaves a compelling story. The reader may like the story, but feels the story lacks depth and is disappointed. As is “beauty in the eyes of the beholder” so is a reader’s taste in literature. What may be good enough for one, may not be good enough for another.
So keep writing. You’ll continue to question whether your work is good enough. You’ll keep challenging yourself to make it better. But you’re doing what you love, and let’s face it, if you’re still writing, and people are still reading it, YOU’RE GOOD ENOUGH!
Cheers!
