Perfection Is the Enemy of the Good

What should you do on the days when words just won't word? Learn more on today's episode of Grammar Minute!

What is Grammar Minute?

Saving the English language 60 seconds at a time.

Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and this is your regularly scheduled reminder that perfection is the enemy of the good.
There will be days when you can’t write to save your life. I’m a professional writer, writing at least a few hundred words almost every day, and sometimes I just can’t get anything good to come out. Firstly, this is why we have editors. They can take something stilted and stiff and turn it into something great. But even if you don’t have an editor, sometimes you have a deadline and you have to write. In that case, you just write. Maybe on another day you could have done better, but at least you wrote something. That’s always better than nothing.
Not everything you write has to be perfect, but everything you write has to be good. There will be some days where everything comes easy, and there will be other days when it’s difficult and not the quality you’d hoped for. That’s okay. Pushing yourself through writer’s block is a good exercise that will make you a stronger writer. Like running a race, sometimes completion alone is a victory. So don’t get stuck waiting for perfection.
That’s your Grammar Minute! Visit thegrammarminute.com for more tips and tricks.