A Bad Story

So what’s the worst thing that can happen?

I write a bad story.

And what does this mean in the overall arc of my life?

I’m going to get hammered in workshop on Thursday.

And what does this mean in the arc of my life?

Maybe it means I turn it into a better story.  Maybe it means I toss it under the bed and forget submitting to this particular market.  So long as it doesn’t mean I quit writing and take up a career in fast food, it’s not a disaster.

So why am I having trouble getting the process started?

In my mind, the only way to write a good story is to press forward with the idea that it is very likely I will write a bad story. Or at least a flawed story.  Revision is a fact of life for a writer who wants to be successful.  The first step is the first page.  The bad page.

So let’s get on with the going.  Write the bad story.  Take my lumps.  Take the hit, and grow stronger.

I have nobody to impress.

I have nothing to lose, except my fear, and my paralysis, and the pointless maintence of an illusion that I know is illusion–the good first draft.

A good first draft is a bad story.

I know this.

Now, it’s time to do it.