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.
The light is green, the flag has been waved, the starting pistol has been fired, the launch sequence is complete…it’s time to GO!
For just this month, make writing a priority. Any other time of the year, you can let other things get in the way, but for the next 30 days, you are a Writer. You eat, drink, breathe, dream, and even pee Fiction. And nothing is going to stop you.
I’m not going to keep you lingering here any longer than necessary, but I did want to offer one little piece of advice: It’s National Novel Writing Month, not National Word Counting Month (…NaWoCoMo?). The “official” goal of writing a 50,000-word novel in 30 days is a lofty one – and just whose bright idea was it to do this during a month with a major U.S. holiday, anyway? Anyone who reaches 50K has a good reason to celebrate, but seriously, guys and gals: just get as far as you can go.
Leave the counting compulsion to this guy:
How many aspiring novelists are reading this? One, two, three…
My Writing Coach 