Have you spoken to your Inner Critic today? It’s that little voice that mutters in the background when you sit down to write. None of us can escape its voice. Is that a bad thing? Not always. Sometimes it reminds us to run our work through the spellchecker one more time, not to use the passive voice, or to find stronger words to express our thoughts.

Unfortunately, the ever-present internal censor all too often appears with negative messages. “That’s no good,” it whines. “You can’t write and nobody will read that stuff.” Students ask me about dealing with this inside saboteur whenever I teach adult writing classes. I usually tell them to carry a twenty-five cent piece in their pockets and, when the little demon pops up on their shoulders, to give it a quarter and tell it to go get a drink and get lost. That advice is good for a laugh but it isn’t the complete answer. The inner critic can sow destructive doubts and sap your creative strength. Here are some ways you can fight back.

To start with, you need to recognize the sound of the critic. It’s important to know whether the hesitation you are feeling comes from the negative side of the inner critic. As your writing skill grows, you will develop an inner editorial voice that will help you strengthen your writing. The nagging critic will try to tell you what you can’t do while the helper voice articulates what you can do. When you learn to tell them apart, you will be able to ignore the cantankerous critic, and enjoy the company of the supportive editor.

Build your resistance to the critic by challenging its negativity. When the misgivings and uncertainties appear in your mind, stop and question their accuracy. You can be the defense attorney in your own court. Is there really any evidence to sustain the negative thoughts or are they baseless?

In addition to being your own attorney, you can be your own good friend. Play back some of the mean things the inner critic says about you and your writing. How would you feel if you heard someone saying those things about one of your best buddies? You’d probably rush to your pal’s defense. If your chum was hurt by the words, you’d offer kindness and compassion. Apply the same thoughtfulness to yourself. If the criticizing voice in your head shakes your confidence, give yourself the same soothing empathy you’d apply to your friend.

Build a physical zone of confidence in which you can do your writing. No, you don’t have rush out and get a hammer and nails to do the building. Just create a space in which you are immune to criticism and in which you wear the title of Writer with Pride. Look at the area where you do most of your writing. Is it a desk? Declare that spot as your sacred zone. While you are in that private universe, you are protected from destructive thoughts. The zone is movable. If you take your notebook to a coffee shop or a park to do your writing, you can take your protective shield with you. It will take some practice to get used to building your confidence zone and writing in it, but the zone will get stronger every time you use it.

Last, but not at all least, find people who are positive and supportive and keep them in your circle. The critic usually learns its disparaging mutterings from unhelpful people in the world around you. If a teacher, a rival, or a family member makes discouraging remarks about your ability and about the writing gift you want to share with the world, you must exclude them from your circle.

Remember: You are capable and deserving of success.

RELATED

• After Fellow Writing Students Criticized My Story, Saying “Slaves Can’t Think,” I Knew I Had to Write a Book About The Buffalo Soldiers – by Bob Rogers
• From a New Author’s Fear of Criticism…to Thousands of Readers! by Chantal van den Brink
• Professional Copywriting Reinvigorated My Theater Critic Career! By Amelia Forsbrook
• How I Became a Restaurant Reviewer, NOT a Food Critic By Juliann Wetz
• POD SECRETS REVEALED: Why Some Bad POD Publishers Ignore Public Criticism

Martin A. David sold his first magazine article in the early 1960s. Since that time about a million of his words have appeared in print in magazine and newspaper articles, essays, and columns, as well as online. He has also published a number of books of fiction and poetry. He has travelled and lived throughout Europe and the United States. He currently resides in Reno, Nevada. His adult writing classes have been supported by the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.