3 ways to escape analysis paralysis in your writing

Most writers put way too much energy into a search for perfection. (That includes me!) We know any piece of writing can be made better with just a little more knowledge, a little more revision.

But there are virtually infinite ways of writing almost anything. That haunts us.

And makes us sink into “analysis paralysis.”

Here’s help from the Publication Coach blog, at Analysis paralysis is killing your writing — and here’s the antidote.

Three things you can do to break free:

1. The good enough strategy. When you write anything at all, you have a lot of choices in front of you. And no matter how good you’ve written something, it could be better. That’s why many of us keep looking at all the possible options in their writing. But here’s the thing a piece of writing that’s 80% of the way to “perfection” is pretty darn close to one that’s 95% of the way. But every percentage point of improvement takes more time and effort than the previous. And it is not going to raise megabucks more. Getting to 95% or higher is going to take a lot of time. And that final 15% rarely justifies your time. Stop fighting for perfection. Know when it’s “good enough.” Then move on.
2. The two-option shortcut. When you find yourself with a whole lot of options in your writing, and you’re struggling to find the best one. Take this step: Narrow down the options to the two top ones. Then choose the better of the two. So much better than gnawing endlessly on too many options. And it will get you moving along much quicker.
3. The action momentum method. Force yourself to make a choice or take action quickly. Just do it! More thinking, more delay, more gnawing on all the possibilities … those things don’t make your writing a lot better. But they wear you down, make you feel discouraged, and can cause you to miss deadlines. Keep moving.

Here’s the truth: You’ll never make anything you write “perfect.” But you can make it pretty darn good. That’s better than most of what’s out there. And it’s good enough to move donors to action.