He has
started interfering with my plot, character motives, scenes and has thrown my
writing rhythm off kilter. I was wondering why this time my first draft is
taking so long. Usually my first drafts are quick. I can get them down either
on paper or on the laptop in a jiffy.
It’s all
because of my inner editor sitting on my shoulder, squinting at the screen, its
eyes narrowed with disapproval, its face contorted with disgust, its shrill
voice screaming a flurry of instructions. Practically every instruction starts
with “ don’t write like this, this is not appropriate, why have you written
this, mellow that down, how can a school girl think like this, how can you
think that about a teacher, that’s not appropriate behaviour for a ten year old
Indian school girl/boy, that boy is not a role model, this is just not
right.”
By the
time I finish arguing with my inner editor, I have wasted precious writing time.
The deadline for my first draft has come and long since gone. I have another
deadline looming large. I still have to write the last few chapters. Make that
the last one third of the book.
Many times
I have shut down the laptop to silence my inner editor. This time I decided
enough is enough. I can’t let my inner editor bully me. So I packed his bags and sent the bully on
a long holiday, as I need to write the first draft my way.
The
moment I kicked it out, I got several plot points in picture. I have gone over
the earlier scenes and made the changes. This separation is doing me lots of
good. It’s given me the much needed breathing space to write the first draft my
way. When my inner editor returns, it will probably die of shock. It’s a risk
I am willing to take. I also know that quite a lot of what I am writing
now will get the axe when I visit the city of edits. I really don’t mind that
as I am enjoying my writing after days.
I would
like to know how do you all battle with your inner editors while working on
your books? How do you deal with a moralistic inner editor who is driving you
up the wall? How do you all silence your inner editors? Please tell us. We all
can benefit from your experiences with your
inner editors.
True Rachna!Sometimes the inner editor plays a spoil sport:) I generally ignore when writing first draft and at the time of review ask him to take on and suggest !
ReplyDeleteI have to keep him happy with a few changes and adjustments here and there.
ReplyDeleteNice creative post, Rachna. Once I ignore my inner editor the first draft takes off. I let go of the moralistic ideas. I let my thoughts run wild. Being away from my computer and the internet lets my mind work on my ideas. I need silence, meditation and a change of scenery.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Rachna.
ReplyDeleteI deal with the inner editor at the beggining stages when I'm plotting. I listen to all her doubts and then I tell her she's done her job and it's time to go away. Then I get writing and am able to be quite serene through it.
Jai
I totally understand! I'm a slow writer because my internal editor is so nitpicky.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! :)
I tell my inner editor it has to wait until the editing phase then I let it go crazy.
ReplyDeleteI try to remind my inner editor things can always be changed later on--not that I necessarily will, but I'm trying to get some writing done here, darn it!
ReplyDeleteHi Friends, I am noticing that all of us have fierce and long battles with our inner editors. Handling them is a tricky art that we are constantly learning.
ReplyDeleteAs I attempt my first story, my inner editor is asking, as a novice, what on earth do I think I'm doing with such "fancy ideas"...
ReplyDeleteMy inner editor won't shut up. So I do my best to make my real editor's job easier and he can focus on making my books better, rather than cleaning up silly mistakes.
ReplyDeleteMy inner editor can be very demanding. I try to maintain a balance, and like Alex C., I let the inner editor have a little ground.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that has been freeing for me is a quote I read on a blog. I forget who was quoted and exactly how it was said, but basically the idea was that's it's okay to let yourself write poorly. Get the ideas down, and then come back to work on it later. I am a great one to tell this to my students, but not one to practice it. After hearing this quote, I have been doing it more and it has helped me a lot. Perhaps it's not even that I write awful stuff as much as just ignore the editor and forge ahead. I get much more writing done that way. :)
I flick him off my shoulder or bribe him to be quiet with chocolate. :D
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you sent him packing! So glad you are enjoying the process again!
ReplyDeleteBless you, girlfriend!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGood for you Rachna!
ReplyDeleteI recently wrote another two 1,000 word crime suspence stories and did not allow my inner critic a look-in and it worked! I wrote them as writing exercises and enjoyed the finished results. Had I written them as stories to submit then my brain would have erected down its barracades and filled its moats and not allowed me past the gate.
I am always battling my IE! I can't shut her up!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeletehe still controls me!! Lol
During my first draft I HAVE to shut my inner editor up. If I don't I get nowhere. I tell him he can come out during the 2nd draft and that's usually enough to make him go away--but he always comes back so I have to tell him a few times during the course of the writing ;)
ReplyDeleteI don't know exactly how I banish my inner editor, but he's usually there the strongest when I first start a new draft. I just do my best to ignore him until he quiets down!
ReplyDelete