Thursday, July 08, 2010

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??

3 comments:

Dr. Kathie M. Black said...

Thanks Shannon - inner critic?? Yep, you are so right we all have them. Lately, in my yoga practice there's been quite a bit mentioned of our "ego"; "little ego" and "big ego". A lot of the teachers are saying things like, "this is the time to put your ego aside" or "this is not a time to let your ego in"... So for me, I'm sure my inner critic is definitely my "Ego". I can definitely see how so much of your statements regarding inner critic are related to 'ego'. So, to answer your question: how do I smack down my inner critic? I think I'd honestly have to answer that I'm trying to be gentle with it, recognize it is there, and gently put it aside. Operative working word here is "trying"... K

Charity Gosling said...

Honestly- I have no idea... funny thing though. I've always read your blog and thought: man, if only I could blog like Shannon. She's way more interesting than I'll ever be!

Shannon said...

Ah! Thanks Charity :) I was looking at yours today and thinking, wow, she is so cool,glad she's my friend and glad I have her to help me with my writing!! :D