Being an Imperfect Example by Rebecca Seaton

Being an Imperfect Example 

by Rebecca Seaton

Broken - but still my favourite pan!

    When you look at other writers, do their achievements seem beyond you? Maybe you find yourself comparing your own work and its flaws stand out in stark contrast to their successes.

   Being imperfect isn’t a hindrance to success, development or influence – sometimes it can even help.

    Imperfection doesn’t mean failure – look at the people Jesus spent time with:

    Peter –where do I start? Despite walking with Jesus, experiencing significant events including miracles, he still thought the best way to deal with the soldiers in Gethsemane was to chop an ear off! Then he denies Jesus three times, the very thing he just said he wouldn’t do. Yet Jesus saw him as a leader, as someone just right to build the early church.

    Zaccheus was so flawed that he was despised by his community. He cheated and stole and was ostracised as a result, yet Jesus saw him and said, ‘Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.’ (Luke 19:5)


    But how can being an imperfect writer be a good thing? Shouldn’t we be continually striving to improve? Yes but it shouldn’t be for our own glory but for God’s and for the benefit of our audience. We want to get better so we can say it better. But worrying about this can be paralyzing. Unless we accept that what we write won’t always be perfect, we may never get started. Maybe this is why procrastination is a problem for many of us.


    An imperfect writer also needs the help of others. Sharing work helps keep us humble. Working with writers with different skills is really good for pushing yourself and identifying your own strengths and weaknesses. Many years ago I wrote a play with a friend from church – he’s much stronger on writing plot than I am but character is my strength. There were some fraught moments but I learnt a lot, especially about prioritising, and we were both pleased with the finished play. Even if the actor playing Carlo never did get to know that being a turnip farmer was a key part of his back story!

    Our own imperfections often shape our characters and showing the way our fictional characters overcome their weaknesses can give hope to readers in the real world. Nobody reading my fantasy novels will go through what my characters do in my magical worlds, but they might take heart from characters who learn to deal with doubt, pride and fear.


    Let’s write characters with imperfect journeys – but let’s not forget to share our own.

Rebecca Seaton came second place in the 2017-18 Pen to Print Book Challenge with her first novel, A Silent Song, which explores issues of faith, forgiveness and belonging. #ACW #AmWriting #AmWritingFantasy