If you have ever watched behind-the-scenes documentaries for movies, you have probably heard directors talk about the impulse to keep tweaking a movie. Sometimes they will say, “The studio had to come and take the movie away from me.”

What’s this all about? It’s pretty simple, really. When you’re working on a big creative project, whether it’s a book or a movie, you always see what needs to be fixed. There are endless improvements you can make.

Case in point: Take George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars. When he released the first Star Wars movie in 1977, he was limited by the technology of the time. So in the late 90’s he started doing special editions of the original Star Wars trilogy. He added in special effects and scenes to try and bring the original movie closer to his vision.

Whether those were an improvement or not is another story… yes, I’m looking at you, badly rendered stormtroopers and Banthas in the desert right before the Mos Eisley cantina scene in A New Hope… but I digress.

Since that time, George Lucas has continued to fiddle with his Star Wars movies endlessly, with several different editions since the original’s release 45 years ago. We can criticize Lucas all we want for some of the weird changes he made to the movies, but there is one thing we can’t deny, and it’s also one of the most important things we can learn from.

It’s this: George Lucas released his movie back on May 4, 1977. He didn’t wait until he felt it was “ready.” He did the best he could within the time constraints, put that sucker out there, and then made changes later on.

There is a reason that movie release dates exist: because if they didn’t, directors would never release the movie. They would continue tweaking their baby until the cows come home.

That’s good advice for us to follow. Get the ball as far down the field as possible, then publish it. I’m mixing my sci-fi movie, sports, and writing metaphors here, but you get the point.

You can always go back and release another version of the book or change things in it. That’s easy today, especially if you self-publish. But don’t let your success be killed by endless tweaking and trying to make your writing project perfect.

Daily Question: Are you letting your perfectionism hold you back from finishing your project?

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One of the most important lessons we can ever learn as writers is that good writing happens in stages. Whenever you read a great book chapter, blog post, screenplay, or speech, it did not begin that way.

It was most likely outlined, drafted, revised, and edited—probably several times—before it took its final shape. This is the way almost all good writing, as well as all good art, is created.

Take the Beatles, for example. In the years since the Beatles made their original recordings in the 1960s, there have been lots of behind-the-scenes albums released that show how their songs progressed in stages.

The 2018 re-release of “The White Album” included the legendary Esher Demos, which were recorded at George Harrison’s house in Esher, about a half hour’s drive southwest of London.

During these sessions, the Beatles recorded an early version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” It’s quite a bit faster and much more stripped down than the final version that was included on the album. But through the process of rewriting, arranging, and perfecting the song over time, it eventually became something truly majestic.

This is a pattern all great creatives seem to follow. The great William Faulkner spoke to the truth when he said, “Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.”

We’d be hard-pressed to say any of the Beatles’ early demos were bad, but they were definitely improved by the continual process of revision. The same process holds true for all artists, including writers. The first version is not the final version. You’ve got to just get down a first draft and then keep working on it from there.

It has been said that 10% of good writing is inspiration, while 90% is perspiration. That sounds about right. Just get the words down and keep working on it. You’ll get better and faster over time.

If you want to be good, you have to first be willing to be bad.

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