Being in Motion vs. Action by Annette Dashofy

I’m currently reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, a phenomenal book about building good habits and breaking old ones. (Five stars, highly recommended.) My reasons for picking up this book have more to do with my personal life than my author life, but this morning, I read a chapter that rang brilliantly true to me with regards to writing.

In his chapter eleven, titled “Walk Slowly, but Never Backward,” Mr. Clear talks about quantity versus quality and about being in motion versus action. I’ll get back to the first one of those in a minute. 

There’s a huge difference between being in motion versus action, one I never thought about prior to this. Being in motion is planning and preparation, such as thinking about a story, taking notes, researching, maybe outlining. We’re in motion, but we aren’t putting any real words on the page. Action is doing the writing. The point Mr. Clear makes is that many of us get stuck in the planning, talking, and preparation without ever progressing to the work. 

Which brings me to quantity versus quality. He talks about a photography class where the instructor divided the students into two groups. The first would be graded solely on the quantity of photos taken. The second group would turn in one perfect photo and be graded on that. At the end of the course, the best photos all came from the quantity group. They were out there doing the work, snapping the photos, experimenting, taking risks… The quality group spent the bulk of their time thinking and planning with their focus on perfection. 

Turning this toward writers, I think about those who write like crazy, pushing out multiple books a year, plus short stories. Plus blog posts. Then there are those who keep tinkering with the same few chapters of that one book, seeking perfection, and never getting there. Or thinking up plot after plot without ever finishing an entire manuscript. 

When I’ve had multiple deadlines within a single year, I admit I’ve worried about the quality of those books written fast just to meet a due date. And yet, some of the books I’ve put out the fastest have gotten the best reviews. Granted, I give a lot of credit to my editors, who pointed out my shortcomings and helped me fix them during revisions. But as I’m reaching a stage of life where I want to slow down and smell the roses a little, meaning writing only one book per year, this quantity versus quality thing has given me much to think about.

The takeaway, though, merges nicely with Anne Lamont’s Bird By Bird wisdom regarding the “shitty first draft.” Stop striving for perfection. It’s fine to plan and outline as long as you follow up by writing the book. And finishing the book. Our writing muscles get stronger and wiser the more words we put on the page. 

Even if they suck at first.