Write Fast, Write Bad

For better or worse, I am a writer. The vast majority of the time, my being a writer is in fact for the worse, and while that might seem like an unfortunate outlook, it is genuinely one of my greatest strengths.

And, if you are also a writer, it should be one of yours, too. That is something I mean in all sincerity, and there are more than a few good reasons why.

Good is Good, Consistent is Better

Now, I'm not arguing that anyone should be actively trying to make themselves a worse writer than they already are. Instead, I am saying that, all things considered, writers are only successful when they are actually putting words down on paper. Or screens. Or whatever fun new method of conveying prose has been invented in the past thirty years that has yet to catch on with the general populace.

Simply put, you're not a writer if you're not writing. So write, even if what you're writing isn't especially meaningful or particularly good. All that really matters is that you're writing. If you're just writing for yourself, then all the better, because you don't need to worry about whether or not other people will consider your work to be decent. If you're writing in any professional capacity, then there is even less of an excuse to not write poorly, and not just because you probably aren't as bad at it as you think.

Quantity Over Quality is a Good Thing When Editing Exists

Listen, even if you are genuinely not a very good writer, I find it hard to believe that you can be truly terrible on every technical level and still be published through a traditional outlet. That being said, if you are a published writer, even self published, you probably have an editor. At the very least, you do some amount of editing yourself, and that is something to take advantage of as much as possible. Obviously, this doesn't mean that you should abuse your editor and send them nothing but string of consciousness type diatribes, but that you should expect them to do their job the same way they expect you to do yours - Consistently.

Assuming you have an editor, it is imperative that you remember that their job is to help you publish better material. Part of that is ensuring that what you put out is worth being let loose into the world. Part of that is ensuring that you are writing to your ability. And, most importantly, part of that is holding you accountable to your mistakes. Again, this is not a call for you to try and be the worst writer that you can. If anything, this is a call for you to be the most prolific writer that you can, and the biggest piece of that puzzle is writing consistently.

Personally, I'm pretty bad at deadlines when it comes to most things that require an analytical bent. Life gets in the way, but so do I. I am absolutely my own worst enemy when it comes to getting shit done, and while I have found ways to more frequently break myself out of depressive spirals, manic episodes, and creative paralysis, doing all of that requires real work. Work like writing, and forcing myself to be cognizant of the fact that I am not accountable only to myself, nor am I alone in my endeavors. I have editors, and they are relying on me just as as I rely on them.

For those who don't have editors, I say this: Yes, you do. You have friends, or family, or loose acquaintances. You have the opportunity to send your work out to be screened by industry professionals who don't know your name, and there is an entire internet of strangers already prepared to crush your dreams by tearing your manuscript to shreds. You also have tools like Grammarly which, in spite of the continued enshitification of everything and the addition of "helpful" A.I. that literally no single user asked for, is still pretty solid all around. At the absolute least, you have spellcheck. Use it, but give yourself time to finish whatever you are writing before you do.

Don't Be Shy (Or Do, I'm Not Your Dad and I Can't Tell You What to Do)

After everything else, I believe it is important to note that, for myself personally, Vocal is a space in which I can publish anything and everything, no matter how bad, and not worry about it. I'm not shy on this platform. I don't have meaningful friendships here that I need to worry about, and there is no one besides a handful of Challenge judges that I care about impressing. In that regard, Vocal is one of the best things I could ask for as a writer, and it is the type of space that every writer needs to find for themeselves.

Writing is hard, and being a writer often means testing out new ideas that are almost certain to fail. It also means pouring your guts out onto the page, and guts are fucking gross. At some point, every writer who makes their work available will be reminded of that, and that reminder is going to hurt. All the same, having a space where you can publish or screen something without getting caught up in what the response might be is liberating, so much so that it is almost a necessity for writers of every ilk.

So, yeah, write more, I guess. Let your writing be bad, and write it anyway. Then go back and fix it. Or don't. Like the sub-header up there says, "I'm not your dad and I can't tell you what to do," even if what I think you should do is probably be more gracious with people in general (but especially be kind me on the internet please say something nice my self esteem is not very high and I really thought I'd be able to coast through life on my slightly-better-than-average looks and mediocre physicality).

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