Silencing the Inner Critic

We’ve all heard that voice. The one that pops up while you’re writing. The one that says you’re not good enough to be writing and have nothing to say. That voice sucks.

For me, the voice often appears before I even begin writing. It suggests that someone else might be better suited to tell this story or that there are more pressing tasks to handle—like watching that cat videos on Reels.

This is why I cherish my writing group. Meeting early in the morning gives me a boost for the rest of the day and helps me overcome my self-doubt.”

Recently, it seems that this inner critic has been affecting others in my writing group as well. We spoke a bit longer than we usually do, about life, about health, about writing. It was nice and some of the things we shared were deeply personal but also supportive and instructive. Perhaps we needed to say some of those things, in order to be ready to put pen to paper.

But one of the lovely things that also happened was a sharing of advice from other writers and other corners of the internet that could be of help to others in the group. So, in the spirit of sharing. I thought I’d share some of them with you too.

Advice from our writing group

Nevo

One of the first things that Nevo shares with friends struggling with that inner critic is a classic Dear Sugar blog called Write Like a Motherfucker. Cheryl Strayed’s blog and podcast have so many pearls for writers but this article is a great place to start. As well as this, Nevo shared a book recommendation for Refuse to Be Done that breaks down the process of writing a novel into achievable chunks, including some useful exercises to help you rewrite.

Sean

Are we nobody when we write or somebody else? Talking about getting out of our own way and the influence of the “writer self” led us to a discussion of a correspondence between Elizabeth Strout and Elena Ferrante. For two writers, so skilled at writing about the experience of people, it’s fascinating to hear them talk about creating a ‘nobody’, an observer of the story. It certainly raised some questions, as two of our group are writing deeply personal memoirs and stories about their experiences, raising the question of whether that’s necessary, or even possible when writing memoir.

As well as raising some provocations, Sean shared a fascinating challenge George Saunders occasionally undertakes, to get him focused on the task of writing. It’s called the 200/50 exercise and challenges you to write a 200 word story, using only 50 unique words, an almost impossible task surely. Saunders’ Story Club is a great place to find writerly advice, and here he is at Literary Hub, on Overcoming Uncertainty in Writing.

Wahibe

The discussion also moved on to consider the need for accountability with one’s writing. Having a writing group, or a commitment to doing morning pages or a consistent program of writing can definitely help and Wahibe described the impact working surrounded by others has on her focus. Instead of being distracted, hearing the scratching of pencils on paper, or the turning of pages acts as a motivator for her and she said some people might call it “body doubling” but she prefers to think of it more as a mutually beneficial relationship where we all get to be productive. Recently, she also mentioned wanting more Write Here groups, and has started a short subscription with FocusMate.

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I’ve come to accept that the inner critic will always be there. The key is to acknowledge it and then return to my writing. In many ways, I started this writing group because without it, I would probably just succumb to doubt and inaction. Having Sean, Lyn, Wahibe and Nevo show up for each other each week has been a huge motivator for me. As well as that, it gives me permission to consider myself a writer. If I’m writing, then surely I’m a writer. No matter what that voice says.  

If you’re interested in joining a morning Write Here session, you can find the next session in our Events calendar.