Self-doubt is the bane of any writer's existence. It creeps in when you least expect it and can stop you cold. I know it's stopped me several times and lately, I've been experiencing it a little more often than I'd like.
Believe me when I say, this is not writer's block. On the contrary, I actually have more ideas than I know what to do with and that seems to be the problem. I've written four new scenes. I love them all but either the order seems wrong or one of them needs to go.
Since this is the rough draft I should just cut and paste it to my deleted scene file for this project. Instead, I've wasted too much time dithering and have nearly lost the momentum that the original scene inspired.
It may be time for my little inner critic/internal editor to be locked in a closet. Hey Serena, I think I may have just figured out that a "green room" would be a lovely place for her. I'd make it so comfortable that she wouldn't want to come out for a really long time. Couple of months, at least. That would give me time for a little free-form scene writing.
Which, now that I think of it, is exactly what I've been doing. Writing scenes as they come to me. They don't need to be in order at this point, I just need to get them down. I'll Feng Shui them later.
Maybe it's overly simplistic to think that silencing my inner critic will completely do away with self-doubt but I think I might be on the right path. How about you? How do you deal with this problem?
Oh, come on. You know how nosy I am;-)
Hugs,
Paris
12 comments:
How do I deal? You got me. I've been at this for years and I still don't know how to shut the little twit up. If I were a drinker I'd drown him. Hey, wait, I think I just came up with a new use for caffeine. Get wired enough and you won't feel like listening to anybody. The writing goes faster too. And sleep is so overrated.
Seriously, we all hit the point where the inner voice tells us, "You know this is crap. Admit it." Go off and do something else for awhile, like hiking or laundry. When you come back the scene will either look better or you'll have an idea how to fix it.
Pat,
Thank you for giving me another use for caffeine! It has endless wonderful properties;-) I like your idea of going off and doing something else, too. Sometimes you might see something your brain didn't recognize before--good idea.
"I'll Feng Shui them later."
Luv that line. I hope you're using it somewhere!
Wow, the inner critic. Like Pat says taking a hike or just doing something else for awhile, handles it, sometimes. Or, you come up with what works.
I think I'm going to go with the extra 'caffeine' approach and see if that gets the job done...
Me, I got the voice o' doubt this past week while working on my short story for an anthology, that may or may not happen. Of course, now that I'm at the end of the word count, and at the end of the story, I really like what's happening between my couple... on that big ole fantasy bed at the masquerade ball... now, well, the BIG finish is upon me... and it's not flowing out as well as I'd like...
Okay, that was just weird... I put this line last*I think I'm going to go with the extra 'caffeine' approach and see if that gets the job done...* but it got stuck in the middle...
Shrug...
Savanna,
LOL! I almost deleted the "Feng Shui" line and finally told my inner critic to get lost. I think blogging may be actually be a form of therapy;-)
Fantasy bed, masquerade ball...I'm so there. Let us know when this available!
It kept failing to auto-save for me this morning. Something is wonky.
LOL...Paris, the closet is a perfect idea, but I wouldn't make it all cushy, no siree... that closet would be the ultimate time out zone, bare walls, painted a nasty shade of orange. oooh ooh add some positive thoughts to the wall and only let her out once she promised to play nice! ;)
I suffer from this dread affliction more than I like to admit to myself. I like my ideas, but my words nip back at me with a "this is stupid" sing-songy sound. My inner critic is a total perfectionist and I have yet figured out how to shut her up. Maybe, I too need a closet! hehe
Good luck! BTW, you inner critic is wrong, I think your writing rocks! :)
Serena,
Bless your heart;-)don't you dare worry about that song, cause that little critic is tone deaf! I think your writing rocks, too!
LOL! A time-out for my little darling. Perfect!
Hey, maybe, we should consider having a theme week devoted to how our shapeshifters would handle... claw, maim, shred... our inner critics???
Savanna,
I like it...a theme week on handling our inner critics...shapeshifter style! I'm in. ;)
Thanks Paris! ~hugs~
You're welcome and I like it too:-)
Feeling a lot of that self doubt myself lately. I can think of a few ways my vampires could deal with my inner critic. :) Only I'm thinking it would hurt.
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