Growing up, I've always been a perfectionist. I don't mind sharing work that I'm proud of--work that has been polished and finished and meticulously refined--but I've always zealously guarded my rough drafts and works in progress and other miscellaneous mistakes.
I'm particularly particular about my writing: I've been known to scrupulously readjust punctuation, change a word for a slightly different connotation, chip at my words with a scalpel until I am satisfied with every detail, before I am ready to share my work with anyone. But recently, I have begun to realize the value of sharing my unpolished work.
I have found, to the surprise of my perfectionist instincts, that people are actually quite supportive of my flaw-riddled talents and rough ideas. A few friends in particular come to mind as people from whom I can share my ideas, who provide support and help me to develop my own ideas.
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| This is the first photo in existence of Alyssa and me together |
The first is my friend Alyssa. By coincidence one day, we discovered that both of us were very interested in creative writing, and that both of us had a small portfolio of poetry and prose that neither of us had really shared publicly before. We read each other’s work and came to appreciate the differences in our writing styles. I’ve had the opportunity to edit some of her rough work, and I can turn to her for advice and constructive criticism, too, and she's honest with me. Good friends don't let each other write poorly.
