Writing Quote Wednesday: Do It!

“Doing is better than not doing, and if you do something badly you’ll learn to do it better.” 

—THE CREATIVE HABIT by Twyla Tharp

One of the things that’s been plaguing me lately is noticing that I’m not executing something particularly well in my writing. When it comes up over and over again, I know it’s a problem. But at least I’m writing. I might be doing it poorly, but I’m working at it.

On Monday, I wrote about a trip to Monticello to learn more about Thomas Jefferson as a gardener. In my research about him, I’ve discovered that he saw failure in the garden as part of the process. He brought 500 olive trees to Monticello from Italy. They all failed (American Eden). So he tried other plants. I would consider his garden a huge success, but he had many failures in the garden.

Right now, I’m studying other authors’ writings like mentor texts to learn how to do something more effectively in my writing. I’ve learned how not to do things. Now it’s time to learn how to do it better.