My response to 3monththesis’s “Why some perfectionism is a good thing”
The original post is here, and the post starts:
One of the most common pieces of writing advice is to “just get words down on the page; don’t worry about detail, and don’t think too much”. This is often given as a way of overcoming writers block, or the “fear of the blank page”.
Perfectionism is seen as a bad thing, because it can lead to constant and never-ending revision of every sentence.
But in academic writing, accuracy of expression matters, and there are some things you need to get right.
I agree with all these points individually, but, in this case, 3monththesis misses the point of this collective advice. Accuracy in expression isn’t needed when facing a blank page. Content is needed first. Editing can be done either on the writing or afterward, whichever works best for you.
Here is my response.
Here is a link to a similar exchange from the past.
I have long forgotten where I read this, but I am reminded of the phrase, “there is not such thing as good writing, only good rewriting.”
As I said in the comment which was deleted, I don’t miss the point of the collective advice, I just disagree with it as a universal approach.
This isn’t really a response to the point in my post, which is that sometimes accuracy of expression matters and it’s OK to slow down and take your time… is there anything wrong with that?
It is disappointing, after our constructive exchange of emails, that your only public comment is negative, and doesn’t seem to respond to the main point of the article.