Write a bad book

So I’ve been trying (rather frivolously) to look

For advice on how to write a book

Nothing that I had come across capable appeared

Of capturing my limited attention, until this piece of advice weird

I came across in a newsletter, titled “Write a bad book”

My curiosity was piqued, I had to take a second look

To all aspiring writers plagued by self-doubt it said

If you think you cannot write a good book, write a bad one instead..

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Not just in writing but in every other endeavor

This advice rings true, you do your talent no favor

If you keep waiting to bring into the world your most perfect creation

Your ability to do something gets lost in self-condemnation

You think you cannot write a good book, so you don’t actually write

Your ideas get lost as your inner critic you continue to fight

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I read this advice at the right time today

I felt I would be unable to write a good poem, so I was pulling away

From my commitment to daily writing, but then

I realized a bad poem was better than one unwritten…