The Inner Critic

Probably most people are familiar with this little voice in their head. If you write, you will know your Inner Critic intimately. Mine is small and thin and has a yellowing little goatee and wears a permanent sneer. He hates everything, tells me that whatever I've just written it won't be good enough and no one will want to read it anyway, and I should just take up knitting or clog dancing instead.

If you ever want to write, it is imperative that you silence this voice, shut him out(or her - maybe your Inner Critic sounds like your piano teacher). I do it over and over - almost every time I sit down to write.

The biggest help to this process for me has been Natalie Goldberg and her book Writing down the bones. Her advice? Don't think too much. Keep the hand moving. Go deep. Find the detail. Follow whatever thread your mind takes you on. Above all, don't be afraid.

Goldberg's method becomes something of a meditation (which is fitting, given her commitment to Zen). Writing for her is a spiritual practice.

Try it now. Pick up a pen, look out your window, and describe what you see - for 5 minutes, without stopping. Just write.