When you write - Be very bad and resolve to stick to it

I am reading an article by Brenda Ueland titled Be Careless, Reckless! Be a Lion! Be a Pirate! When You Write. It is from a collection of her writings called If You Want to Write.

In the article Brenda gives the same advice that I have heard many times before. For those that are stifled into not writing, give yourself permission to be bad. Because your good writing and your true voice will only come forth when you are writing.

But she also goes one step further. She says:

"...people who are always trying to be so good, should try to be very bad and resolve to stick to it."

In other words, do not only give yourself permission to write badly, but resolve to write as badly as you can. The reasoning Brenda gives is that nobody can write something dull from beginning to end.

At some point you short circuit. You let a true voice speak and you write something that is good. But the reality is that as long as that is your focus, writing something good, then you have not permitted yourself yet to be bad.

Today, for your writing, commit to write badly. Ensure that everything you write today is trite, dull and pompous. Commit to write and to write badly with no care for the outcome and no hope for it ever being anything good.

Can you do it?

Gerhi Janse van Vuuren

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== Gerhi Janse van Vuuren is a writer. Read more of his articles at 2 Write a Book.com or visit his personal site at Gerhi.com ==

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