Monica Valentinelli: Author, Game Designer and Consultant

Posted on April 10, 2008 - by Monica Valentinelli

Don’t be Afraid to Write like Crap

One morning, Little Miss Writer wakes up like she normally does. She gets out of bed, stretches her fingers, and gulps down a cup of coffee. After she’s had the chance to wake up, she sits down at her computer, and starts typing away on her assignment. All of a sudden, tiny microbes of self-doubt enter her bloodstream, carrying with them a slew of racing thoughts that range from “My career is over” to “I suck as a writer.” The strange part is, she can’t pinpoint anything different that happened that day, but she believes that something did.

When self-doubt enters a writer’s mind, we start to make assumptions about our market based on what we “think” will sell, stunting our creativity at times to fit a square peg into a round hole instead of branching out into uncharted territory. Truly, the only way to learn from your mistakes is to first make them, but if you’re afraid of making them then your writing suffers.

Personally, I suck at poetry. In fact, I would classify myself to be a rather crappy poet. I often write poetry, though, not to publish it but to experiment with the words and play around with how they sound. Here’s an example:

So he’s waited
so he tries
to set godhead close
with arms on strings
and many, multi-colored
things to hold
things to have
spinning him round
without one spring
or other little, dangling
things he’s known
things he controls
inside out he
walks the line
round in circles
like everyday time
two-handed victor
tightly wound
so he’s trying
so he waits

What forms of writing are you uncomfortable with? When was the last time you wrote in that vein? While every writer is different, I feel that identifying and exploring your weaknesses are just as important as writing what you are good at. Sure, you may not be the best at writing children’s books or romantic short stories, but who cares? When was the last time you wrote just for yourself? If you haven’t done it lately, it can be a very freeing experience because you can set your own terms and play around with your words for fun.

On another note, I know there are different contests on the subject of writing a paragraph like crap or the crappiest one-liner but seriously? If you have to try to write like crap, you’re probably not writing like crap. Somehow you’ve adapted your writing style to a standard and—if you win—you were “the best” in that form.

In a world where words matter (both spoken and written), don’t we owe it to ourselves to write like crap? Sure, there’s a lot of crap already out there, but I’m not talking about publishing, I’m talking about delving into uncharted territory to exercise your mad skillz. Whether or not you show your crappy writing to anyone else is one thing, but for Shakespeare’s sake have fun with it. After all, if you don’t laugh at yourself and lighten up from time to time–who else is going to help kill those “self-doubt” microbes running around in your writer’s blood?

Happy writing! (Like crap! Er…)

Related posts:

1. Who Do You Write For?
2. Write First, Sell Later
3. Is Blogging and Social Media Affecting Your Ability to Write What You Want?
4. Where is Your Ideal Place to Write? Your Big Distractions?
5. Do Not Be Afraid To Make a Mistake