Writers, Set Your Articles Free!

3 truths about publishing your articles even if they don’t look good enough.

There's a young writer I met in the hospital in 2019. He was the youth coordinator in the church where I went to introduce my book a few months before.

As we walked down the walkway together, he related to me about the book he's been working on for over 2 years.

"How will you continue to work on a single book for 2 solid years?’’ I wondered in silence.

Deep within I knew that young man may not publish that book in two more years. First, he’s now a staff in a hospital where he works 8 am to 6 pm and second, he’s so much engaged with church activities.

Considering the aim why he still keeps the manuscript for so long a time — to make it a 500 pages — I shared some words with him which I want to share with young writers who still keep their drafts until they're "perfect" for publishing:

1. You can’t say it all because no one knows it all.

An idea is too vast to discuss in the few minutes you have with your reader. An idea is as vast as its source: the universe.

You can’t discuss everything about an idea.

So just decide what you want to talk about and the point you want to make. If you have done that, you can push the publish button.

2. There's No Such Thing As "Perfect Work."

No matter how much reviews and revisions you take it through, it will never be perfect for everyone. Writing is an attempt in which the writer aims to use words to paint a picture.

A painter uses colors and brushes, a musician uses sounds and song while a writer uses words to paint a picture in the audience's mind.

It's only an attempt; there's no such thing as perfect attempts.

3. Every Writer is On A Journey of Getting Better — No One is Perfect.

Writing is a journey. Each piece you write and publish is a step forward. The article that moves you a step forward is not the one you are still writing but the ones you've written and published.

It's the feedback you get and use from the stories you've published that makes you better.

So set your articles free even when they don't look perfect. When you're just starting out, good enough is good enough. Push the publish button. That's the only way you get better as a writer.

Thanks for your time

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This story is published in a Few Words, Medium’s publication that only accepts stories under 500 words.

If you have a few meaningful words to say and want to be a writer in our publication, visit here.