Outwrite Your Inner Critic
How writing fast and furiously can help us outrun and silence the mean little judge in our heads
As a notorious overthinker, I have a lot in common with the kids I mentor as a writing coach. My worst habit as a writer is not my unnecessary use of the word “had” before a verb (“She had ran as fast as she could”), nor my tendency to string three related clauses in a single sentence (“Elizabeth walked to the door, she rang the doorbell, and then she waited”). Annoying but fixable, those grammatical faux pas don’t hold a candle to my worst habit of all: letting my inner critic win. Otherwise known as: not writing at all.
Above is the go-to visual I use to explain the writing process to children. I remind them that every writing project, whether it’s a 300-page novel or a 50-word Instagram post is subject to the same cycle. First, we generate ideas, then we choose one, and then we begin drafting (yes, another three-clause sentence). It’s what happens after that can get a little sticky for writers like me.
I don’t know any writers who don’t revise at least a little while they’re writing. While drafting this Substack, I’ve paused my writing at least a dozen times to correct a word or research a clarifying piece of information. It’s natural to improve upon your writing as you’re doing it. For many of us, however, the longer we press pause to revise, the more we open ourselves up to the harsh and unnecessary feedback of our inner critic, the one who loves to remind us that we’re foolish for endeavoring upon this work at all.
I’ve ceded a lot of power to my inner critic over the years, something I’ve been better able to recognize through teaching others. This week I was coaching a child who is crafting a realistic fiction story. I watched as he hesitated to put a single word on the page before running it through the harsh filter of his inner critic. Unless his critic judged it as perfect, it wasn’t worth the space it would occupy on the page. The idea of placeholders, or temporary, imperfect words to be improved upon later was unacceptable. The inner critic demands perfection or nothing at all. Too often, the result is the latter.
So, how do we override the tiny, discouraging voice that lives inside each of us? And wouldn’t we be peeved if, at the end of our lives, we’d stopped ourselves from creating anything because we’d given our power over to a hapless, imaginary little charlatan?
If learning to silence the critic within is the most common problem a writer faces, then it warrants many possible solutions. There’s deep psychology at play here, of course, but there’s also the risk of placing so much emphasis on understanding that psychology that we incidentally end up empowering our inner critic even more. So, lately, I’ve taken a very rudimentary approach to shutting this voice up: I’m simply outrunning it.
Lean on Timers
As a teacher, I’ve long used timers as writing tools. Kids marvel at how much they’re able to put on the page after only 5 or 10 minutes, especially if the constraints of the assignment are clear (i.e. write a list of places that matter to you, or write a scene in which one character is keeping a secret from the other).
In this case, what’s good for the gosling is good for the goose (especially if the goose or the gosling is subject to anxiety or ADHD). Choosing a constrained amount of time is key, however. We can set ourselves up for failure with 2-hour blocks of time. As a teacher and a writing coach, I’ve never set a timer longer than 20 minutes. As a writer, my own sweet spot is between 30-45 minutes.
No Distractions
Here’s the hard part: if you decide to use a timer, the environment must be conducive to deep focus. For me, that means no music, airplane mode on my devices, and no visual distractions. If possible, I love having other (silent) people in the room. Knowing they can hear the sound of my click-clacking on the keyboard is helpful for accountability.
Use Placeholders
I wish it hadn’t taken me so long in my writing journey to recognize the magic of placeholders. Whenever I have an idea that would take too much time to flesh out entirely, or I’m searching for a precise word I don’t have access to at the moment, I type “xx” or insert a comment to remind myself of my thoughts. This trick is so simple, so obvious, and so necessary in maintaining flow that I have no idea why I ever resisted it.
Limit Revisions
Revision is the heart of the writing process, the place in the writing cycle where we want to dig in and dedicate the most time. However, ensuring that it doesn’t overlap too heavily with drafting is critical. Whenever I open up a project I’ve been working on, I restrict myself to a certain number of revisions. I’ll allow myself to re-read and revise the last 3 pages, for example, or perhaps the last chapter. Anything more and I end up lost in the sauce, suddenly reevaluating the entire project.
Your (Optional) Homework
You don’t have to make nice with your inner critic this week (or ever). But you can visualize yourself jogging right past them, waving hello, and continuing on with your business. In the words of our precocious 5-year-old neighbor, "You’ve got s**t to do!”
There is a time and a place for the inner critic, but I strongly believe it’s not during the drafting process. So, if that’s where you are in your project: trust yourself and let it flow.
It’s also absolutely our job to teach our kids not to be anxious about writing. If you’ve never used a timer before, perhaps this is the week to model it. Remember, a bad draft is better than no draft. We have to start somewhere.
In that vein, today, I’m visiting Rosie’s third-grade class to read the first chapters of the middle-grade mystery book we co-wrote this summer. No one makes better beta readers than 8-year-olds! (As it turns out, they make fine editors, as well). Wish us luck and lots of great feedback.
