In her essay titled “A Practical Memoir about Writing and Life,” Ann Patchett compares the creative process to pinning a butterfly specimen into a collection that will be mounted on the wall and displayed.

I love this metaphor for creative writing. It all starts with a beautiful idea. Then, you attempt to put the idea down on paper and it’s…just not the same. It sounded so good in your head.

Writers are always their own greatest critics, but if you can’t get past the self-criticism and actually write the damn thing, you’re not a writer. You must pin it down. And, yes, it does lose some of its fluid loveliness when you turn an idea into words on a page, but it’s the only way to preserve the idea. You must pin it down, or it will simply flutter away.