The Inner Critic is a common term referring to the obstacle many writers face – instant dissatisfaction with anything they write. It’s the name for that voice in the back of your mind going “This is no good, this is tripe, who do you think you are?” as you scribble or type.
Newbie writers are often afflicted by this, but it can strike at any stage of experience.
Even when you think you’ve conquered it.
I was trying to follow my own advice and not get frustrated at the halting progress I’ve made on my novel since National Novel Writing Month. But trying not to be frustrated is equally frustrating.
Usually, my Inner Critic appears to me as myself as a young teen, when I’d started writing fiction. I had a computer in my room and wrote hungrily and tirelessly, for hours on end. And effortlessly — my word and page count would climb and climb, and I moved from idea to idea, project to project, just as fast as I could think of them.
The Inner Critic conjures up this image of her at her desk writing to her heart’s content and says, “Look, she knows how to do it, how to make the words flow. You’ve forgotten it. What happened to You?”
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One way to deal with the Inner Critic is to just learn to ignore it. But as I’ve blogged about before, your own self-criticism can be useful.
The last time mine yanked me back to my childhood bedroom and held me up against myself, I finally did notice the difference between what she was doing, and what I’d been trying to do.
She was there to write the story, without much thought to the quality or craft of the writing. She would go back and correct things that didn’t sound right to her, but she didn’t agonize over word choice, cliches, showing vs. telling, active vs. passive voice, pacing, dialogue, character development.
It made me realize that while I’ve been preaching the “it’s just a first draft” message to my students and audience, all the while I’ve also been approaching my own novel like I’m writing the final manuscript.
I’ve been looking at it through editor’s glasses. I’ve been reading too many articles and blogs about publishing and agents. I’ve been writing for that audience, and it’s tripped me up every step of the way.
As a young writer, I wrote for myself. Because it was fun, and because I was good at it.
Somehow, craft itself became my Inner Critic, likely when I began teaching it and viewing everything through that filter. And like with many problems in life, now that I can put a name on it, I feel I can start freeing myself from it and finding the FUN in writing again.
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Commenting/Writing Prompts:
- Does your Inner Critic take a particular form or speak with a distinct voice?
- Who are you writing for? Not your market niche, but the audience you are trying to please.
- “For me, writing is ____” Fun? Draining? Stressful? Relaxing?
My Writing Coach 
Marisa, This is true in so many aspects of life. I hate to say it, but even at age 71 I find myself listening to the little voice that softly repeats in the back of my mind, “Is it good enough?, Am I good enough? Thanks for the reminder and thank you for being the awesome person you are.”