You Can't Rush Art

This post is inspired by Geri, the toy cleaner from Toy Story 2. Right before repairing Woody, he states wisely, "You can't rush art." Geri then completes hours of painstaking work to repair Woody, down to the most minute detail.

"You can't rush art." The same is true for writing. Don't rush your writing process. When you rush, mistakes occur. When mistakes occur, your writing looks amateur. When your writing looks amateur, readers don't take you seriously. When readers don't take you seriously, you get depressed. And when you get depressed, you binge on pickles. Don't binge on pickles. Don't rush your art.


Slow down, pace yourself through your writing. Did you know that from the brainstorming stage to the first theater release, Toy Story 2 took nine months to make? And this amount of time is considered fast for animated movies!


But you say you don't care how long it takes to create an animated movie? Okay, allow me to move my comparison to a ballpark we all know and love. Writing. J.K. Rowling took five years to write Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. During this time, Rowling also laid the framework for the rest of the series. She didn't rush her art. If Rowling had blitzed through Harry Potter, she may have written a moderately successful YA fantasy, but the series would have ended there. We, her readers, would have never had the joy of experiencing Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort's final battle six novels later.


I am not pushing for a specific time period in which to write your literature. After all, Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in two weeks. The time and dedication authors put into their works vary, but the final product, the masterpiece should be perfect upon submission or publication. Read through A Christmas Carol. Read through Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. What do they have in common? Precise wording, complex characters, engaging plot; I could go on! Before sending your manuscript out, take the necessary time with it. The already slim chances of publication disappear completely when your art is rushed.


Please don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating lazy or passionless writing. If you are in a writing frenzy, go with it! Have the goal to write 30 minutes a day? Keep it up! But don't immediately count the writing you do in this time period as your final production. A piece of writing isn't ready for readers until you have read, reread, rewritten, revised, and revisited it later on. This rule is known by all authors, but those who actually live by it are far more successful.


I am living proof of an author who didn't follow this rule. Three weeks ago, I "published" one memoir, one novella, and one short story on Amazon; all before they were ready to be published. Since the first publishing, I've been playing catch-up. Realizing and fixing simple typos, inaccuracies in plot and voice, and chapter sequencing. Every day in these last three weeks, I have been reposting my published texts, trying desperately not to lose my supportive readers. I've finally uploaded my final rewrites of all three texts, but, I know I blew my opportunity with some curious readers. I rushed my art. I paid the consequences.


"You can't rush writing." If you do, you will be disappointing your readers and failing yourself. As soon as you discover you have been rushing, Stop. Reread. Edit. Revise. While your book may sent out to agents or publishers two weeks later, you'll know it's your best creation.