Writing Things I Learned the Hard Way #7: If It's Worth Doing...
Kira Kosarin (yes, the Thundermans girl) said it best. And, I think most people have heard the phrase, "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well." And I think that it is a lovely idea.
If something is worth doing, it is worth giving it your best.
This can apply to anything in life. But for writing, or anything in the creative arts, it is very true. If it is worth doing, I firmly believe that you should give it your best, no matter what.
HOWEVER...
... and that is a BIG however...
If something is worth doing well, it is worth doing poorly.
Don't read into what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that if you believe something is worth doing, you shouldn't just do it halfheartedly. Don't just scribble on a page and call it art without having clear meaning or intent behind it.
But if something is worth doing, do it even if you lack the skills to do it well.
This is how you build your skills and talents. You need to learn to be okay being bad for a while. The prodigies? The people who are good on the first try? They are exceptions.
Almost everyone is going to suck at something. I kinda suck at writing first drafts that are publish-ready, or even Beta-ready. But I believe it is worth it for me to write still, so I am going to write poorly, and make it better later. I cannot build my skills if I do not come back to my computer and write, even if I suck.
I cannot become a writer if I do not write.
And, though I do not like to get political, this is true with generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) as well. If GAI is writing your book for you, then you are not the writer. The writer (or writers) is wherever the GAI took its recycled ideas from without crediting. And you, my friend, are aiding in its thievery.
GAI cannot do things "poorly" by starting rough and then becoming better the same way humans can. Humans build skills and learn new things. GAI simply learns how to plagiarize better.
So, my fellow writers. Please. Keep showing up. Keep writing. Even if it sucks.
Because if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well; and it is worth doing poorly.
