If you fear making mistakes, you’ll accomplish little.
The lawn of the Manitou Springs, Colorado, library was filled with bold people.
On the platform, the Tender Foot Bluegrass band performed for an audience of two hundred. They could have been fearful. Music isn’t their day job. But they boldly performed song after song.
On the front of the lawn, a dozen children ran, jumped, and danced. Paying no attention to the adults behind them, they boldly enjoyed the moment.
What better place for musicians to sing boldly and children to dance boldly than in front of a public library — filled with books by authors who dared to write boldly. For that’s the only way to write — especially your first draft.
Your initial draft is no place to hobble yourself with self-editing or self-doubts. Don’t worry if that sentence has good grammar or violates point of view. Just write.
Later you can edit. If it works, that’s great. If it’s bad, delete. If it has potential, fix it.
But to have writing worth fixing, you must first set aside your fears, your hesitations, and write boldly.
The people on the library lawn will be glad you did.
