Who Is Your Inner Critic?
Spend time listening to your Inner Critic. He or she is not
comfortable with the risks demanded by a creative endeavor. By
becoming aware of the foul jabber of your Inner Critic, you can
see how your mind puts up roadblocks to creativity.
Tip 3 from Ten Tips on Creativity
Imagine your conscious mind is tuned in to a radio station run
by a single disc jockey, your Inner Critic, and you have no way
to turn down the volume much less turn it off. In fact, you've
grown so used to the constant talk from the Inner Critic, you
hardly notice he's ordering you about, commenting, passing
judgment and evaluating just about everything you do or say;
this is all so subtle and insidious that you don't separate out
the Inner Critic from other parts of you. The Inner Critic has
become you--it seems as if the only time you can escape his
badgering is when you sleep. There is a reason for this. When
you sleep, your conscious mind shuts down. The dream state or
intuitive right side of the brain, takes over.
The Inner Critic avoids the dream state like the plague. He
can't get a foothold in a place where there is no apparent
logic, where things appear as images, feelings, sounds and
colors. It should not be surprising, then, that your best
stories, characters and plots, come from this place of dreams,
where little is known and anything is possible. The problem is
how to wrest control of the radio station from the Inner Critic
so that you can give your Inner Writer some air time.
Answer the following questions quickly, without thinking.
What is the color of your Inner Critic?
How big is your Inner Critic?
What is the texture?
Is your Inner Critic masculine, feminine or both?
What does the voice of the Inner Critic sound like? Make a list
of the things your Inner Critic says to you. Don't worry if you
repeat. Come back and add to this list as you become more aware
of the Inner Critic.
What is a creative risk you fear taking?
Make a list of the reasons your Inner Critic has for you not
taking that risk. Make a list of the negative things your Inner
Critic says about being a writer.
Find a symbol of your Inner Critic. Students have come up with
anything from a picture of a boss to a vial of sulfuric acid.
The image of my Inner Critic is a fierce looking puppet. I like
to turn it inside out, which makes it look like a harmless
alien!
Now, write to your Inner Writer. As her or him what you should
do when your the voice of your Inner Critic is very loud and
destructive. Put your pen to paper and start writing. Learn to
listen to the voice of you Inner Writer. Give your Inner Writer
some powerful stations on the radio in your mind. Turn to her
when you feel your all dried up and will never write again.
Begin now:
Dear Inner Writer....
This exercise was taken from Emily Hanlon's The Art of Fiction
Writing or How to Fall Down the Rabbit Hole Without Really
Trying. The Art of Fiction Writing has enough writing prompts to
drown out the voice of the Inner Critic!