tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post5810455391571172243..comments2023-06-15T09:13:45.467-04:00Comments on Liberty's Torch: To Strive, To Seek, To Find, And Not To YieldFrancis W. Porrettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862584203772592282noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-60001523779589247612019-03-01T09:33:59.531-05:002019-03-01T09:33:59.531-05:00So I read your post. Then I read Sarah's. Then...So I read your post. Then I read Sarah's. Then I read yours again.<br /><br />I am convinced you're talking about slightly different things, though it is, as you often point out, a problem of slippery definitions.<br /><br />Perhaps we can define it thusly: there are two types of perfection. RELATIVE perfection - that is, perfection as you describe here, the satisfaction of some standard of quality. And ABSOLUTE perfection, which is the purview of God alone.<br /><br />I will refer back to my evil stepmother for an example. She was fond of using absolute perfection as a tool of measurement. If I cleaned the bathroom, for instance, but a single speck of dust was overlooked, she would claim I did not, in fact, clean the bathroom. It was not *absolutely* perfect. What Sarah is talking about is a similar, but internalized, demand of perfection. As if she has a clone of my stepmother in her head saying "that is not absolutely perfect."<br /><br />This is how Socialists 'hack' Rightist conceptions of morality. There is one person who didn't get enough to eat, therefore nationalize the entire economy and ban all the guns, because absolute imperfection. They are my stepmother writ large.<br /><br />What you describe is relative to a realistic standard. I set standard X for myself, and upon meeting X, I may claim my job complete and perfect, relative to the agreed upon standard. So long as the standards are reasonable for (absolutely) imperfect man, that is good and well.<br /><br />One thing I agree with you on here is that if Sarah does have an internalized evil stepmother, so to speak, that is detriment to her. I empathize with her on this, though, because for the longest time, I likewise had this internal demon to wrestle with. In some ways, I still do - though I have since learned to ignore it/turn it off when it gets out of hand.Manuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13082153758868357687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-71258516165419830612019-03-01T08:54:38.714-05:002019-03-01T08:54:38.714-05:00Generally, I agree with you. But not here.
Yes, a...Generally, I agree with you. But not here.<br /><br />Yes, a work should meet your own standards. And, if a flaw (let us say - a <b>significant</b> flaw) is pointed out, yeah, we should fix it - IF possible.<br /><br />However. In life, few things are absolutely perfect. Sometimes, the job requires that the product be missing some less essential element (as in software) - those things that would be NICE to have, but the time limits don't permit it.<br /><br />Sometimes, battles are won by the less perfectly prepared, but bold and audacious.<br /><br />Sometimes, a particular story is the best you can deliver - at that point in your development as a writer.<br /><br />Now, for the perfectionists, that is reason to tank the whole thing. Because they cannot write perfectly, they never finish.<br /><br />I came from the tradition of news. I worked on college papers, and later blogged daily. There's the old rule: if it doesn't hit the street today, it's not news.<br /><br />Better an imperfect story, than a late one.<br /><br />So, my perspective is different. I write a LOT - 4 different blogs, fiction, and now, non-fiction. I'm not you, whose work is highly polished and takes some time to do it right.<br /><br />I'm Linda. I sometimes concentrate more on getting it out to the public than about perfection. My syntax is sometimes sloppy, as is my formatting.<br /><br />I'm more OK with imperfection. I'm imperfect, as a person. I'm certainly no saint. I make mistakes.<br /><br />But, that's what works for me. If I didn't publish until my work was perfect (as perfect as yours), I would never have published at all.<br /><br />I am getting better, just as I did as a reporter - the more you do something, the better and faster you get at it. The first full-length book I bring out will NOT be perfect. But, it will be the best I can do, at that time.<br /><br />I think that is the essence of what Sarah was communicating. That too many people are shooting for the quality of an author with many books, rather than the best they can do NOW.Linda Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15024201252345608291noreply@blogger.com