“Movies aren't finished, they're abandoned. And you have to make your peace with that.”
- David Fincher
I have heard writers say the same about their novel: it’s not finished, it’s simply time to let it go.
Creating is a very personal process. From ideation to draft 1, from draft 1 to draft 8, 9 or “final_version_5_finalthisone”, each iteration, each edit -and never mind 3rd party feedback- becomes both an opportunity for improvement but also another thread for you to handle. Yet another thread…
Threads everywhere. You wanted to make socks and it feels you’re creating the whole Zara catalogue for Winter 2022. At some point, either by sheer exhaustion or simply because of a deadline, you drag yourself through the finish line. Or throw the “final_version_5_finalthisone” through it and turn around to hit the bar.
You might say…
… “But it’s not perfect yet”, if you are a psycho-perfectionist.
… “But it’s not finished yet”, if you are an insecure letters-on-a-keyboard banger like me.
… “I need more time”, if you still haven’t come to the conclusion that I had Fincher point out earlier in this post for you.
Fine. I’ll let Elsa explain it to you one last time: “Let it go, let it go, can’t hold it back anymore…”.
You’d like to keep editing, improving, polishing, but then it’d never be over. It’d never be published. And so, you’d be robbing the audience from their story.
Yes: THEIR story.
See, once you publish your work (novel, film, painting, song or even a SoMe post…) it won’t be yours anymore: people will experience it and absorb it in their very own personal way. You might not have intended for certain reactions, you might not even have thought about possible interpretations, but it’s part of the risk you took when you started that journey.
Your work is yours as an author, but give the audience the chance to truly embrace it and make it theirs. It’s scary. And truly wonderful.
I could go on but maybe, just maybe, it’s time to consider this post done and dusted. And be at peace with it.
Bonus, more Fincher, an absolutely genius storyteller and director: How David Fincher Hijacks Your Eyes (Video by Evan Puschak / The Nerdwriter).