Paralysis By Analysis

I heard this term earlier in the week and it really stuck a chord with me. When I first hear this, it came from a discussion about the current trends we see in the world today about "data driven programs." In other words, we collect a ton of data, examine the data, and then move forward once we know something. We build our next path off of that data. We feel the need to overly study the numbers, dissect that information and, only when we have it all figured out, THEN we move forward.

As someone in education, and someone who has kids in K-12 education, I am overly frustrated by this. We test kids over and over again to collect "data" and then do something. The end result is that forward progress and learning has been paralyzed. We have come to a complete stand-still.

I don't want to get on a rant about testing, K-12 education or the like. Instead, I want to talk about the other angle that popped into my head when it came to the concept of Paralysis By Analysis, and this dealt with my son in swimming (and probably a lot of other athletes).

For my son, he spends a lot of time dissecting his stroke, working on inching out any fraction of a second. He is really good at this analysis, so I don't want to dismiss this. Many great coaches can take the time to truly watch what athletes are doing and fix issues. But, if we obsess over this, like my son does every now and then, his stroke goes no where.

The reason for this is simple. He is thinking too much about the stroke and the technique and not letting muscle memory take over. In his case, he is still dissecting the data, and not applying what he has learned.

So, what does this have to do with writing? The same thing happens her for far too many authors.

If you spend too much time working on that one scene or that one character, you are probably in a situation of paralysis by analysis. You are trying too hard to fix something, that, in the long run, is probably not going to be an issue.

So, how do you know if you are in this situation? Consider the following:

• Do you feel that you cannot start writing the story until you get all of the research figured out?
• Do you feel that until you talk to the experts in the field, your research is just not going to be strong enough?
• Do you feel that you have to develop a full profile for each of your characters down to their likes and dislikes of food?
•  Do you send things out to critique groups, revise and continue that process until you get to a unanimous vote that the writing is good?
• Do you refuse to let anyone look at your writing until it is perfect?
• Do you, after you pitch a project to an editor or agent, feel you have to go back a couple more times to make sure it is correct?

Then you have that problem.

Now, please understand, a lot of this stems from writers not being fully prepared to be a professional writer. You are still learning the craft, and that is OK. Take the time to learn it first, AND THEN move on.

For the rest of you, this is simply a confidence issue. You have to trust yourself and your writing. IF you have done all of the prep work in the beginning, and IF you have thought through the writing as you go, and IF you have used your brain when you were writing - THEN TRUST YOURSELF!