When some creative spark alights in my brain, it truly is a wondrous feeling.

Reject your inner critic (Flickr: juliejordanscott)

I can’t really put my finger on what may have caused it, but it hardly matters.

Because, when the thought comes – a sudden realization of a plot twist or an idea for a new story or a particularly sharp phrasing of words and sounds – it is true perfection.

I imagine book deals and public relations campaigns.

And then I go to write it.

Word play: Zoom in on inspiration

It’s maddening how such an inspired vision can puddle onto the page, leaving nothing but a streaky mess.

I am told that creativity is a something of a slog and the best thing to do is just muddle on.

True.

But, it’s a tough notion to embrace because when I envision perfection, I feel I must mirror it in my words and in my writing.

If you’ve written as long as I have, then you know that as writers we all must reject perfection, mostly because it is not possible.

Striving for it and allowing it to paralyze you will only bog down the imagination and cloud your natural impulse to be free and unburdened by expectation.

Silence your inner critic and just write.

Kerri S. Mabee is editor at EducatedWriter.com. Learn more about her at kerrismabee.com.