Silence Your Inner Critic

Every writer at some point in their writing journey has to deal with that annoying, obnoxious, and painfully irritating critic sitting on their shoulder, looking down at their work and making them question every sentence they write, every word they choose, and just generally be harsh about any decisions they make. 

This is the inner critic and it needs to be taught to mind its own business or it'll get a roll of mental duct tape tossed at it. 

Consider this article a fresh roll. 

Why do writers have self-doubt when it comes to their writing?

Well, why do any of us have self-doubt about anything? Fear, insecurity, society - our mothers? 

Most of the common questions I'm asked to answer focus on self-doubt, imposter syndrome, or just general fear of failure. 

This isn't to shame anyone for thinking badly of themselves, we all do it in a way and if you can find a single person on this planet who wouldn't snap their fingers and change something about themselves if they had the power to do so I would tell you that you found someone that is either lying to you or themselves.

Understanding why we feel the way we do and why we're so harsh on ourselves is the first step in getting that inner critic to close their mouth, but even with this understanding, there are a few more practices you can employ when it comes to this voice being critical about your writing. 

Embrace Imperfection 

One of the biggest reasons new and seasoned writers alike quit writing is because when they look at their draft or even their finished project they don't see the perfection that they do in those other books that they read or that they see on their shelves. 

I'll bet you those writers think the same thing. 

Whether they admit it to their fans or not I'm sure there are plenty of popular, famous, or commercially successful authors out there who wish they could take their books back from the shelves and minds of readers and fix up a thing or two before letting it out there again.

There is no such thing as perfection in a novel no matter how many times you edit and revise it and the easiest way to understand this is with cake. 

You take a batter and mix it up but it still has some lumps so you mix it more, but there are still more so you mix it again and again looking for the batter to be perfectly smooth without a single lump or bump in the mix. 

Do you know what happens to over-mixed cake batter? 

Sure it's still going to be a cake - it's still going to be edible - but it's going to fall flat because some of the best things have been taken out of it. 

Think Of Growth 

Writing is one of those journeys that has continuous improvement. 

Sure your writing may not be the best right away, but that's just a part of the process. 

You didn't learn to write your name perfectly the first time either did you?

 Just like all things better writing can take practice to achieve.

Be Your Own Cheerleader 

I know it's easier said than done to go from criticizing yourself to praising yourself, but it can be done. 

When you have those moments when you think that what you're writing isn't good enough or that you think that no one will want to read it I want you to make the conscious decision to change the direction of thought and instead remember that you are doing your best and that as long as you keep writing, practicing, learning from past mistakes, that there will always be someone out there that is waiting to read a story just like yours. 

Find A Cheerleader 

If being your own cheerleader is too much to handle or you're just not able to take yourself out of that negative mindset then you need to find someone else to help you along with it. 

This can be anyone from family to friends, to a partner, or even a writer group which can be found in your local area or online.

Finding support and having someone to cheer you on as you work through the journey of novel writing can help you keep writing on days you may not want to and keep going when all you want to do is print out your manuscripts just so that you have the ability to chuck it in the nearest fire... despite the high cost of printing and the environmental repercussions. (Yes - I really did do that and was stopped thanks to my partner convincing me to keep it and try again) 

Set Goals and Celebrate Milestones 

Sometimes what we need to keep our spirits up are victories. 

By establishing achievable writing goals and celebrating victories no matter how small can be just what we need to silence the inner critic. 

Breaking novel writing down into manageable tasks can make the process less daunting and give you plenty of milestones to celebrate. 

When a novel has been giving me a particularly bad time I motivate myself chapter by chapter with a small treat and encouraging words along the way and I recommend you find something that works well to motivate you. 

This can be your favorite treat, an episode of a show you've been wanting to watch, or a dinner from your favorite place. 

Find something that will motivate you to keep going and to help you celebrate that you did. 

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Unfortunately, it may be hard to permanently silence our inner critics and no one writer is alone in dealing with them. I'm sure even the most successful of authors look down on their works every once in a while and debate just tossing them away.

This is why learning to silence this voice as much as possible is a necessary skill when it comes to being a writer. 

Don't ever let your inner critic let you quit. 

The world is waiting for your story. 

Now go write it. 

With love, 

B.K. xo xo

Want to write with me live? I'm now on Twitch! Come join me in some writing sprints every Wed-Thurs-Fri-Sat at 10:30 pm EST

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