{"id":85,"date":"2021-03-21T14:00:02","date_gmt":"2021-03-21T20:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/?p=85"},"modified":"2021-03-21T14:00:02","modified_gmt":"2021-03-21T20:00:02","slug":"perfection-excuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/perfection-excuse\/","title":{"rendered":"The Perfect Excuse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

I thought I wanted perfect.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I chased it with a list.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Until I changed perspective,<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

And found what I had missed.<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Perfection is the ultimate goal.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the incoming message, isn\u2019t it?  I see the cover pages of magazines while waiting in line at the grocery store.  Perfectly organized pantries, closets and laundry rooms.  Glorious kitchens with everything you need, perfectly placed and waiting for when you need it.  Pure fiction, I suspect.  At the very least, not my reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

I have a panic room in my house that hides the real me.  You know, the room where clutter gets stuffed while guests visit.  Most people don\u2019t go snooping in random rooms when they pop in for a quick visit but just in case, mine has a lock on it.  For their own safety really. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not proud of my natural lack of organization save the sock drawer.  For some strange reason sock folding is a necessary task that fills me with joy at its completion.  That drawer you can look in.  Not the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have created many lists over the years in an attempt to reach the ultimate goal of perfection.  List completion doesn\u2019t happen nearly as often as list creation.  And list retention has proven to be a challenge.  For the most part I am still the same messy, chaos-loving individual who has learned to live with clutter-blindness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Except in my writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The need for every word of my novel to be flawless is worse than my sock-drawer compulsion.  The story, the plot, the tension, the characters, the first line of each chapter, all of it has to be perfect.  Is anyone surprised that my novel remains incomplete?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn From My Mistakes Moment:  I am trying hardest to be perfect in the one area that needs perfection the least.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why am I doing this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Being a good writer is important to me.  I always thought perfection equalled success.<\/li>
  2. The more I learn, the more I recognize how I can improve.  Always.<\/li>
  3. Ultimately I am going to share my work with the world.  Do I want to share anything that isn\u2019t perfect?<\/li>
  4. And the real reason (drum roll):  FEAR.  Am I brave enough to share?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Fear keeps me working and reworking the same chapters, because until it\u2019s perfect, I don\u2019t have to share.  No wonder my muse became completely bored and disillusioned and moved on to a different task.  I found her last week reorganizing the Tupperware cupboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I have recognized PERFECT for the excuse it is and have struck a new deal with myself.  I have posted it on my white board (in an effort to keep the left side of my brain happy):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Author Wanted:<\/strong>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Creativity is a must.  A reckless, wild, limitless, crazy flow of unfiltered originality.  The you that is you, spilling out onto the page, fearless, confident and irreverent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Perfect not required<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I thought I wanted perfect. I chased it with a list. Until I changed perspective. And found what I had missed. Perfection is the ultimate goal. That’s the incoming message, isn’t it? – Gail Lowe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"THE PERFECT EXCUSE\nby Gail Lowe\n\nI thought I wanted perfect.\nI chased it with a list.\nUntil I changed perspective.\nAnd found what I had missed.\n\nClick link to read more of #GailLowe #PerfectExcuse #TCLA #TheCornerLotAuthors #WritingCommunity","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[20,19,17,21,18,3],"tags":[23,30,28,26,29,22,24,27,25],"class_list":["post-85","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fear","category-insight","category-organization","category-reworking","category-story","category-writing","tag-excuses","tag-excuses-in-writing","tag-mistakes","tag-organization","tag-organizing","tag-perfection","tag-vulnerability","tag-writing-goals","tag-writing-lessons","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21,"url":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/writing-can-be-murder\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":0},"title":"Writing Can Be Murder","author":"Gail Lowe","date":"April 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gail Lowe \u201cHow to Commit the Perfect Murder was an old game in heaven. I always chose the icicle: the weapon melts away.\u201d\u2013 \u00a0Alice Sebold,\u00a0The Lovely Bones I\u2019m figuring out how to commit murder.\u00a0 The method and weapon still elude me although I have decided on the location and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"photo of a black bird","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-3927600.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-3927600.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-3927600.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-3927600.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-3927600.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-3927600.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":119,"url":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/tame-the-dragon\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":1},"title":"Tame The Dragon","author":"Gail Lowe","date":"May 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I am in the process of taming my dragon. I write while it\u2019s sleeping or preoccupied with some other dragon-worthy pursuit. But eventually, it pins its fiery gaze on my work and burns words to ash. Rubbish, it snorts, slinking back into its cave, leaving me to wonder why I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inspiration"","block_context":{"text":"Inspiration","link":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/category\/inspiration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Blog_Gail_Dragon2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25,"url":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/writing-contest\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":2},"title":"Writing Contest","author":"Gail Lowe","date":"August 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Gail Lowe I hope July treated you well.\u00a0 For me, it was a month of firsts.\u00a0 I entered my first short-story contest.\u00a0 Then I got my first rejection notice. The experience was a wild combination of excitement and disappointment that taught me a few things about my writerly self. 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I was hooked by all the possible science scenarios I could use in my writing, especially the idea of travelling by portal. - Gail Lowe","rel":"","context":"In "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Gail_Jan2020A.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Gail_Jan2020A.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Gail_Jan2020A.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":133,"url":"https:\/\/thecornerlotauthors.com\/GailLowe\/cope-its-good-for-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":85,"position":5},"title":"Cope, It\u2019s Good For You","author":"Gail Lowe","date":"June 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This is my favourite Covidism: A person will come out of lockdown as a hunk, a chunk, a drunk or a monk. The first time I heard it, I laughed. The second time, I put my drink down long enough to step on the scale. 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