Perfection in Writing and the Perfect Potato Chip

Noteworthy Writing Prompt #9

"Write about a perfectly round potato chip with a tiny bite out of it."

Do you, like me, hang on to your stories? Do you not let anyone read it until you feel it's perfect? I have stories in the deep caverns of the computer that no other eye has seen. Filed away secretly under "taxes", because no one looks there. 

Is it because I don't trust people to be kind with their comments? Is it because I don't want people to think that I'm a second rate story teller? I don't have a university degree. I haven't been to many classes for writers, because I just can't afford it. Family first... writing second. Perhaps it's a combination of all these things and more that keeps me from sharing. Perfection being at the top of my list. 

Then I read this quote by Ernest Hemingway:

 

Ernest wasn't perfect. I'm not perfect, and that's okay. 

Don't wait for perfection to share your stories. Yes, edit them, as well as you can. Shine them up before you share, but then let them go and see where they'll take you.

Have fun and let go!

Here's my humble attempt at poetry:

Left Behind At Dawn

A Poem by Anuschka de la Court

It lay in the darkness of pre-dawn

The wetness of morning dew clung to its salty outer body

Crispness gone

In it’s place only soggy remains

Sad at it’s imperfections

Forlorn at it’s loss of use

At night, the life of the party

Only to be forgotten and left behind at dawn

A songbird’s melody brings hope

The sunrise, a kaleidoscope of colour brings comfort

A peck

Then a bite

Ah! It was of use again

Even in it’s soggy state

It was nourishment once more… Comfort food!

A perfectly round, Lays potato chip

Now, with a tiny bite out of it

At campsite fifty-nine


Thanks to:
- Ernest Quote