I need to KILL my Inner Editor

[Greenwolf103]

Or at least get it to (bleeping) shut up!!

EVERY time I try to write fiction, that Inner Editor keeps throwing darts! "It's too predictable." "This sentence is passive." "What were we taught about prepositions??"

ARGH!!!!!! :head

I just wanna WRITE the stories!! Just WRITE THEM. THEN the Inner Editor can take over. But that hasn't been enough to quiet the Inner Editor down.

Besides yelling "SHUT UP!!" and screaming in frustration, what can I do? Help. :(

[AstralisLux]

That's happening to me too. Just write. :coffee

[Lori Basiewicz]

Dawn, duct tape and some good strong rope are in the mail.

[HConn]

Stop giving your Inner Editor so much authority. The IE shouldn't have enough power to make you stop working.

When the IE speaks, just say "So what?" and keep going. You don't have to impress anyone, including yourself, with your first draft.

[reph]

The Inner Editor is your employee, not your boss. You can yell "Shut up or I'm busting you to proofreader!"

[pencilone]

Edit in one place and write in a completely different place.

Eventually you could also wear some lucky writing socks while writing in your writing place and you could wear your lucky editing socks while you edit in your editing place.

You'd be surprised...:coffee :jump

[maestrowork]

Next time the editor says something, just ignore her. Say, "yeah, whatever. I'm allowed to writer crap now. Come back a draft later."

[Greenwolf103]

Thank you, everyone. (LOL at Lori and reph's comments.)

pencil, that is a good idea. I will try it and see what happens.

maestro, that is a good point, too. Sometimes if I just think "it's OK to write crap now" then I'm more comfortable to just write.

HConn: I agree. This happens when I'm in the creating phase of my stories and NIP, not when I'm in the editing phase. (I think the IE is trying to take over. Ack!) Unfortunately, it is holding me back. I am going to work on it, though. See what solution works.

[detante]

When the Muse strikes, the words just spill onto the page. It's such a rush, it seems like it should be illegal. Or at least regulated by the government. Problem is, the Internal Editor thinks so, too. There are times when mine acts like a Vice cop looking to bust a prostitution ring.

Sometimes it's not enough to yell at the IE. You have to ward against it with a little ritual before writing: take a walk, meditate, brew a pot of loose leaf tea, do shots of chocolate syrup, whatever works for you. Best of luck!

Cheers,
Jen

[Greenwolf103]

Jen, do you write erotic fiction? Just kidding. ;)

Seriously, though. I think trying the chocolate syrup thing would only encourage the IE.

When the Muse strikes, the words just spill onto the page.

Hm, this reminds me of the "rush" I'd get whenever I wrote with a pen, and NOT on the computer. The words just seemed to flow right through my veins. And oftentimes, this was when the IE would stay away. (I guess the IE got flooded. Heh.)

Maybe that's the ticket. I know, it can be tiresome uploading everything you write with a pen, but if it works, I can't complain. Good thing hubby just bought me two stacks of notebooks! :thumbs

[SRHowen]

when I write each story has its own music. Played over and over until everyone is ready to kill me if my headphones are not working.

When I edit I listen to radio or a variety of music, anything but the stories song. That seems to help me or maybe I am just crazy.

Shawn

[detante]

Jen, do you write erotic fiction?

LOL, sometimes.

Hm, this reminds me of the "rush" I'd get whenever I wrote with a pen, and NOT on the computer.

Well, there you go, then! I like Shawn's use of music, too.

Jen

[LiamJackson]

Dawn, ask Barb if you can borrow Bud for a couple of days. That should be enough to pummel any IE into submission.

[sillysteph]

Anne Lamott wrote about this problem in Bird by Bird (http://isbn.nu/0385480016). I'm going to paraphrase this badly, but she said to imagine that all the voices in your head are little people that you can pick up and stuff in jars. Each jar has a volume knob on it, so you crank it up and listen to them screech for a little while, and then you turn the volume all the way down and write.

[tfdswift]

I think my inner editor is off playing golf or something. Because I have never had any voice telling me anything except the story. I have to go back through in the end and edit with the grammar and spellcheck on then have someone else read it then sit down and "try" to apply all the stuff I have been taught. And I still suck at it even after all of that.

Maybe you could send your IE over to get mine out of bed or back from whatever it is doing besides helping me.:nerd

~~Tammy

[reph]

Don't worry, Tammy. Just post your product on Share Your Work and the rest of us will send our inner editors over there to sharpen their claws on it.

[cleoauthor]

Just scream at your Inner Editor, "You are NOT the boss of me!"

As with dealing with agents, you must be firm. You employ the agent and your Inner Editor. Don't let 'em reverse the roles on you!

[tfdswift]

Thanks Reph,

Now I'm not afraid to share my work at all......:eek

Sure I'm not! No really, I'm not...

AAAHHHH!:ack

<Tammy turns and runs with tail between legs>

lol

~~Tammy

[novelator]

Well, I had that problem with the inner editor too. Then I divided my time each day. Muse first, when I'm fresh and feisty, then revision with the inner editor when I'm quiet and ready to listen.

We're a lot more productive now...LOL

Mari

[Greenwolf103]

Thank you, everyone. :) Very helpful stuff.

I think the IE was a bigger distractor from something else, though. I just realized something MAJORLY WRONG with my book that has previously gone unnoticed during the last three revisions. Something that isn't "right." And now that I've noticed it, I feel ready to write the FINAL revision because now I know what kind of book it should be.

Er, not so much "write" the final revision. Just take the problem spots out of this one. :grin

And, Liam: Bud AND my Internal Editor together in my head??

...

http://pages.prodigy.net/indianahawkeye/newpage05/17.gif

[LiamJackson]

I'm telling ya', Dawn. Bud will get your IE drunk on cheap tequila and maybe show him a few porn flicks. He'll be out of your hair for at least a night.

[Lori Basiewicz]

LJ, you are one frightening individual.

[LiamJackson]

Why, thank you Lori! :grin

[Yeshanu]

I'm surprised nobody commented on this:

Hm, this reminds me of the "rush" I'd get whenever I wrote with a pen, and NOT on the computer. The words just seemed to flow right through my veins. And oftentimes, this was when the IE would stay away.

Writing longhand (as discussed in another thread somewhere on this board) engages different parts of your brain. Specifically, because you draw each letter, the "artist" side of your brain (wherever that is) is engaged, not the "logical" side. I often will go to my pen and notebook if I'm having difficulty working out a concept on the computer screen.

I write all of my poetry first drafts (except for limericks, which don't seem to require any thought at all) longhand, and all of my sermons are written longhand.

I didn't write much of my novel in longhand, but used my notebook to work out concepts, snatches of dialogue, character sketches, names, etc., then went to the computer. It made it much easier.

I also find it easier to write "crap" if I use a pen, because I know it's not the final draft.