A conversation with Carla Panciera, contributor to The Wisdom Collection

When Grace Paley Prize winner Carla Panciera received what she calls “the best advice I ever got about writing,” she had no idea it would become her philosophy for living. The advice? Simple, yet revolutionary: “Just let it be bad.”

For a self-described perfectionist who had spent years paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes, these four words were nothing short of liberating.

“I’m a perfectionist and I sort of set high standards for myself,” Panciera explains. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing, but I think it can be paralyzing at times. I definitely felt that throughout my life in general, I was not a risk taker. I was risk averse.”

This perfectionism had created a creative prison. Like many writers, Panciera found herself frozen by the impossibility of getting everything right on the first try. The advice to “let it be bad” broke those chains, offering permission to begin imperfectly and improve through revision.

“What’s going to happen if something doesn’t come out as perfectly, especially on the first try, as you thought it was going to?” she reflects. “Honestly, it’s been liberating to think that way.”

What makes Panciera’s story particularly compelling is how this writing advice transformed her approach to everything. During her 30-year teaching career, she began experimenting with new classroom methods, openly telling students, “Look, this isn’t working, so we’re going to try this today. Tell me if this works, or tell me how we tweak this.”

This openness to imperfection created breakthrough moments. When her writing workshops weren’t engaging students, she asked for feedback. Students revealed that her method of asking for volunteers made them feel they were claiming their work was “really good,” which felt uncomfortable. By simply changing her approach—calling on students individually and offering them the choice to read or pass—she unlocked amazing sharing sessions.

“Let it be bad opens you up to accepting feedback,” Panciera notes. “I don’t go into my class or when I’m talking to my daughters about giving them advice or I’m trying a new recipe, I don’t go in saying, I’m gonna get it right the first time.”

The Power of Process

As a parent, teacher, and writer, Panciera discovered that embracing imperfection actually leads to better outcomes. “You don’t get to be better at anything in your life unless you open yourself up to that feedback and revision cycle.”

This wisdom forms the heart of her contribution to The Wisdom Collection, where accomplished authors share the advice that changed their trajectories. Panciera’s chapter reminds us that the fear of imperfection often prevents us from starting at all—whether we’re facing a blank page, a new relationship, or an unfamiliar challenge.

“If you think you can’t ski, but you’ve never actually gotten to the bunny slope, you have no idea,” Panciera observes. “Often getting to the bunny slope is the most terrifying part of your first day skiing.”

Her message resonates far beyond the writing community. In our perfection-obsessed culture, Panciera’s wisdom offers a different path: one where growth happens through iteration, where feedback becomes fuel, and where “good enough to start” becomes the bridge to excellence.

The Wisdom Collection, featuring Carla Panciera’s transformative insights alongside other remarkable authors, is now available from Summit Press Publishers.