Inner Critic Be Damned!

I’ve been reading lots of other writer’s blogs lately, amazed at just how dang good they all are! Funny, insightful, imaginative and well written. I love to see what they’re up to and what they’re working on. Sometimes I can totally relate to their struggles, sometimes I know I’m not there yet.
And then my inner critic started to be a jerk. So what am I doing on this blog, what am I accomplishing by putting words on paper? I caught myself before it got too out of control, smacked down that inner critic and realized what I was doing. Something that a lot of writers do, something that a lot of people do. Comparing myself to the other bloggers and writers is a vicious cycle and once it starts, ah crap, its hard to get out of it. It can take away your drive to write, stagnate your muse and leave you wondering if you should even bother with pen and paper anymore.
So here is what I did to shut down my inner critic.

1. There’s always at least one person who’s read your work and knows just how good it really is and for me that’s my brother and my best friend. They both are honest and will tell me my work sucks or if it rocks.

2. I checked out some of the blogs out there again with a different reason. So many people go through the same insecurity issues. We’ve all got them and it’s good to remember that I wasn’t alone.

3. I went back and read some of the requests for partials, reminded myself that I’d gotten at least that far, and just needed to keep at it.

4. Lastly, I wrote this blog. Maybe there is someone out there right now thinking they aren’t good enough, should surrender the pen and just forget about their dreams. Don’t do it. The difficulties and sometimes heartbreak that this business can bring doesn’t outweigh the love of writing, and the moments of accomplishments.

So for those of you who read this, how do you smack down your inner critic (whether it be in writing or anything else)? Baseball bats, tire irons or the good old tar and feathering??