3 Tactics To Squash Your Inner Critic -

You’ve finally owned your desire to write, and blocked off time on your calendar! You sit down at your computer and start typing away.

Then your inner critic rises up like a balrog. While I’d like to tell you to harness your inner Gandalf and say -” You shall not pass!” It’s not enough. There are strategies we must employ because just as our writing weaknesses won’t be addressed in one sitting, neither will our inner critic fall into a fiery abyss with one command (and may I point out, Gandalf went with the balrog). So let’s be like Gandalf. Go with your inner critic and see what she says. Ask yourself this question – Is it true?

My inner critic

When I was in junior high, I wrote a poem for my stepfather, Bud. I asked my mom to review it. After reading she replied “You’re going to give this to Bud?” which meant I needed to do some revising. Since I had poured my heart and soul into that poem, I was crushed. Was it true that my poem needed some work? Yes. Does that mean I shouldn’t have written it? No. My Mom was a writer herself, and at that time, editing a newspaper. She knew her stuff. I was a wannabe writer who needed her approval. But I was too sensitive at the time I didn’t understand- she was offering constructive criticism. The next question you can ask yourself is – Should criticism (even constructive) stop me from writing?

Obviously, the answer should be “no.” Everyone’s work needs polishing. We start with sloppy copy and that’s okay. If you are aiming for a perfect first draft, then you need to change your mindset. Perfectionism isn’t serving you. If you start writing and can’t think of a word or a phrase, don’t quit. Add parentheses and go back to it later. Add a note. Say it poorly the first time and you can revise it later. I type the drafts of my articles and chapters on google docs and save them. I go back and revise a few days later.

I’m actually typing this article because I want to record a podcast series entitled “Squashing Your Inner Critic.” I’ll turn it into an article on my website and then a chapter in the book I’m writing. “Squashing Your Inner Critic” is just a jumble of ideas on a document now. I have my theme, my subpoints, and now I’m fleshing it out. That inner Critic – I’m going to call her Perfectionist-Kath is poking me-

You spelled that wrong.
That doesn’t make sense.
Why are you adding that?
That wasn’t part of your original concept.
How is that going to help people?
Your left-hand types faster than your right.

Endless. So are those things true? Some to a point. But should I stop writing this? Nope. How do I squash my inner critic (and how can you do the same)?

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3 Tactics to Squash Your Inner Critic While Writing

Follow your inner critic. If your inner critic is leading you back to your fifth-grade classroom where your teacher off handedly told you that you couldn’t write well. Tell the Inner Critic Ghost of Your Writing Past – I’m an adult now. Remind yourself of all the time you have invested in your development.

For instance, if Perfectionist-Kath reminds me of the poem I wrote in junior high that needed some work, I remind myself of all the education I’ve invested in since then. I’m not 13-year-old me anymore. One of the mistakes we make when dealing with negative or toxic thoughts is only trying to squash them. We must capture them first like the annoying fly buzzing around the picnic table. Then we examine them. Find out if they are accurate for today (even if they were accurate at one time or not). Reframe what we believe about that thought. You may be thinking, I’m trying to write a chapter- I don’t have time to go through all of those steps. Let me ask you this – will those Critical Ghosts of Your Writer’s Past go away on their own? Or will you be plagued by thoughts and images of your past and slam your laptop closed and walk away?

Be Proactive. I know it’s coming. Every time I sit down to write, Perfectionist-Kath joins me. One of the practices I’ve invested in is positive affirmations. Each of my affirmations is based on my potential, not my past. If you believe, as I do, that God has called you to share your story, He will equip you to do so.

A positive affirmation can look like this – God has called me to write. He equips me. He provides me with clarity, vision, and purpose in my writing. You can say your affirmation like a prayer, Father, thank you that you…. insert affirmation. If you aren’t a Christian, the spiritual principle of faith will still work. Faith is believing for something you hope for- tangible evidence of something you can’t see. We need to envision the writer we want to become. Can we imagine our writer’s weaknesses away? No, but as soon as we shift our mindset, then everything else will follow. Plus, we will be more determined to keep going. We will naturally find resources to help us move forward in our writing careers.

Tell your inner critic you’ll address it later. With the last point in mind, sometimes being proactive means addressing it later. That sounds confusing but let me explain. I was working through Dr. Caroline Leaf’s neurocycle to change a negative thought pattern.

One of her suggestions is – when the thought comes up during the day, tell it “I’ll address you tomorrow when I neurocycle.” Then imagine yourself putting the thought into a box and on a shelf. You can do this with your writing.

Dyslexia

For example, one of my daughters is an amazing conversational writer. When you read her stuff, you feel as if you are tucked away in a comfy chair in the cutest coffee shop sipping your favorite beverage while she encourages you. One of the weaknesses that held her back was dyslexia – and as a result – the ability to spell. All the letters jumbled together in her head. When writing she wrote all the letters in the word in whichever order they spilled out of her brain.

Instead of berating her because her spelling was atrocious, I took another approach and bought her a speller’s dictionary. It has words spelled the way “you think they would be.”

While you are writing, let your writing weaknesses be put into a box to be addressed later. Don’t stop writing. Tell them, you’ll address them later. Then do it later by investing in books, courses, podcasts, and affirmations (or prayers). The truth is we all have areas we need to work on in every arena of our life. Yesterday when I was editing the show notes of the podcast, I noticed I say “And” and “So” a lot. So I wrote it down. I’ve been a bit out of practice when it comes to public speaking (which podcasts are with a little more leeway to be conversational). So, I will be aware of my tendency next time I record. It’s perfectly normal to ALWAYS be working on improvements in your writing. Just remember, the inner critic isn’t in charge of WHEN you work on writing weaknesses or the Ghosts of Writer’s Past. YOU ARE.

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Conclusion:

Our inner critics aren’t going away. Once we understand that, we can use tactics to squash it when it comes around. If we don’t squash our inner critic, then we move into full-blown imposter syndrome. Perfectionist-Kath turns into Imposter-Kath. I don’t feel qualified. It’ll feel as if my story doesn’t matter in a sea of professionals who know their stuff. I’ll tell myself I’m not an expert so I have no business writing. Then I’ll quit. If you’ve let your inner critic and imposter syndrome win, grab my free checklist and own your identity as a writer!

To recap, here’s the problem we solved:

3 Tactics to Squash Your Inner Critic While Writing-

One. Follow your inner critic. Tell the Inner Critic Ghost of Your Writing Past – I’m an adult now. Remind yourself of all the time you have invested in your development

Two. Be Proactive. Invest in positive affirmations. A positive affirmation can look like this – God has called me to write. He equips me. He provides me with clarity, vision, and purpose in my writing

Three. Tell your inner critic you’ll address it later. While you are writing, let your writing weaknesses be put into a box to be addressed later. Don’t stop writing.

3 Tactics To Squash Your Inner Critic