Bad writing is GOOD because bad writing is necessary. Writing isn’t perfect the first time. We have erasers, backspacing, delete, and reprints just because writing isn’t perfect.

Anne Lamott says, “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.”

Janet Hulstrand takes that a bit farther, for us perfectionists, and says, “Bad writing precedes good writing. This is an infallible rule, so don’t waste time trying to avoid bad writing. (That just slows down the process.) Anything committed to paper can be changed. The idea is to start, and then go from there.

One of my favorite authors (I mostly read his Westerns), Louis L’Amour said, “Start writing. No matter what, the water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

Laura Backes says the first manuscript (or the first four) are about “finding your own voice, creating your own style.” These are practice manuscripts.