Friday, January 14, 2011

If I Kick Out The Inner Editor...

Will she come back when I need her? Well, I think that's a chance I'm going to have to take if I ever want to finish my current WIP. I've been talking about my goals for 2011 this week. I haven't by any means listed all of my goals, only the ones I feel are most important. I was having a hard time choosing which goal to talk about today and then it hit me. One of my goals would be a step in completing a couple of others thus killing three birds with one stone. So, my third goal this year is to turn off my inner editor. I've been in revision/editing mode for so long that I'm struggling to just write. I analyze every paragraph, every sentence, every word. I'm getting nowhere with this approach. I've been doing the same when I read. I find myself ripping apart novels instead of savoring them. It's sucked the joy out of reading for me. This year (at least in the beginning), I will kick the inner editor out of my head. I will invite her back as soon as I finish a first draft and hope she forgives me for being so rude. Now, I know I've only been back blogging for a couple of weeks, but I'm going to take next week off. My mom will be in town and if I try to blog, it will be unorganized and probably a bunch of pointless posts. That would go against my second goal for 2011, wouldn't it? Besides, half of you are begging me to take a break in hopes of good news anyway! Have a great week, and I'll see you on the 24th.

40 comments:

strugglingwriter said...

That inner editor really needs to go for draft 1 for sure.

Invite her back for the first revision 2. At this point the inner cheerleader is the one that needs to take the vacation :)

Diane said...

Have a super visit with your mom. See you soon! :O)

KC said...

Sometimes we need to turn something off in order to get something on!

Stina said...

My inner editor was pretty good while I was working on my lastest first draft. And I didn't complain when she peeked over my shoulder. ;)

Jennifer Shirk said...

That's tough and something I need to do too. My internal editor is STRONG.

W.B. said...

Try to write without your inner editor, then read over the paragraphs yourself.

It's always good to finish a complete draft before revising it, so that way you can analyze sentences and paragraphs, spelling and grammatical errors, etc.

Best of luck with your writing!

Robyn Campbell said...

I loves ya, but want you to break until...:)

The ol' inner editor. DANG HER HIDE. :) She's always trying to interfere. I just want to write without her hanging around.

Have a great time with your mom. Tell her we all said hi. :)

Stephanie Faris said...

Eeeek. I wish I could turn off my inner editor. For some it helps to just say "This is my first draft. I'll clean it up later." That never worked for me!

Carolyn V. said...

Oh, I hate that inner editor during my first draft. She keeps creeping over and making my progress stop! Good luck Susan!

Tana said...

I turned her off for a while as well and then I begged her to come back. SHe keeps my WIP tidy and neat and cuts revision time in half so it's a wash.

Laura Pauling said...

Have fun with your mom! I have the opposite problem. I'm almost done with a first draft and have to kick into revision mode soon and start seeing my writing for what it really is in raw form.

Janna Leadbetter said...

This is one of the processes I'm learning about with my writing. Just lettin' it go, especially for the first draft.

Patti said...

I know what you mean about inner editor, that's why I haven't read anything for a while and why my latest chapter is taking so long to write.

J.B. Chicoine said...

I'm having a terrible time trying to turn off my internal editor--she's always looking over my shoulder...

...by the way, I had another full manuscript request last week--still waiting to hear, but maybe your hiatus will work in my behalf, lol...

Cindy R. Wilson said...

That sounds like a great goal--and one I'm aiming for, too. I love the uniqueness of my new story idea and turning off my editor will hopefully let all that creativity come out. Have a great time with your mom!

Stephanie McGee said...

Good luck with the goal! There's a book, The Artist's Way. There's a whole part about how to get rid of the negativity, the inner critic. You should check it out. (The exercise for this is called Morning Pages.)

Melissa Gill said...

Hi Susan- Another Kansan, good to see you. I hear what you're saying about the inner editor. I had a hard time transitioning from revising to writing on my last WIP. What cured me was NaNoWriMo. I didn't have time to edit as I went, I just had to slap it down there. Of course, now inner editor is yelling "why did you write this", but oh well. We're having fun cleaning it up.

Chantele Sedgwick said...

I am ALWAYS editing. I have a problem. I need to take your advice as well and turn off my inner editor to actually finish a new novel. Good luck with your goal! Hopefully I'll be able to do it too! :)

Melissa said...

When I wrote for NaNo I kicked out the inner editor. When my friend read the book he actually commented that the last two thirds (what i wrote during NaNo) was WAY better than the first third (which my editor was on full blast). I think when we write we need to just write. Editing really should be done later.

Kathi Oram Peterson said...

That inner editor can really get in the way of a good time. I've had mine tied up in the closet for the last two weeks while I try to get some pages written. I plan to let her out around the end of February. ;)

Tamika: said...

I worried about my internal editor never speaking to me again either:) We called a truce and now she's back in my corner. At least for this draft.

Jade said...

Good luck with finishing the 1st draft!!!

Terri Tiffany said...

Will your inner editor take mine along:)

Colene Murphy said...

Sounds like a plan! Have a great week off!!

Plamena Schmidt said...

I tried to make every sentence perfect when I started my first WiP, but I wasn't getting anywhere so I just had to leave the editing till later. As it should be. Writing on paper helps to reduce editing because you can't change stuff around as easily.

Glynis Peters said...

I've switched off the novel writer and turned on the inner editor. I have too many projects needing attention, and NW keeps coming up with new ones. She needs locking down for a few weeks.

Enjoy your time with your mum.

Diane J. said...

Just bolt the editor in the attic, she'll be ready to go when you need her.

Have a great visit with your mom!

storyqueen said...

I find that when I write by hand, the inner editor has a hard way of keeping up.

Shelley

Kathryn Magendie said...

My inner editors knows I'll ignore her until I'm ready to hear from her, so she just slinks along in some dark corner until I'm ready then she leaps out going YAYYY RELEASED FINALLY! whoop whoop! NOw, this part SUCKS -take it out-no argument - geeez, what else you got in here....huhn... :-D

Faith said...

Have a good break and a great visit! I'm thinking about taking scheduled breaks this year too.

Kick that inner editor in the pants!

Kelsey (Dominique) Ridge said...

Internal Editors grow back. I promise.

Have fun with your mom. :)

David said...

Sometimes I try and write fast, so my inner editor can't keep up, or break my stride.

If I tried to kick my inner editor out I might get beat up, and there's no telling what he would do while I was out.

Congratulations on your productive hiatuses. Mine may not be as productive as yours, but they are longer. Nine months, though I'm the wrong gender to produce a baby in the interim.

Name: Holly Bowne said...

Have fun with your mom! And since I'm in the midst of revising my own WIP, you've definitely enlightened me as to why I've been highlighting and writing in the margins of the book I'm supposed to be reading for fun. Whoa. Major wake-up call!

Jen said...

Enjoy your time with your mom and good luck in finishing that draft. I understand; my editor has been giving me heck for years now. I'm just now learning how to kick her out and lock the door!

Enjoy your break and I look forward to good news on the 24th!

Jen

Paul Greci said...

Enjoy your week. I hope your internal editor takes a break as well :-)

Nancy said...

I think she will come back when you need her. It just makes sense that she will. Now about that inner editor messing up your reading time, I hope you give her the boot. You deserve some reading pleasure, too.

Sarah Laurence said...

Good luck writing! I'm working on my second draft finally. I also have to tell that inner editor to be quiet to finish the first draft.

Ishta Mercurio said...

Good for you. Just get the words down, and if your inner editor forces her way out of the chains and padlocks you've got her in, just jot down a note on the side somewhere. She'll come back when you need her.

Dara said...

I have to shut my inner editor off now. I'm trying to get this first draft done and if I don't shut her up, it won't get done at all. I keep fighting the urge to go back and read things...because when I do I want to edit it! For now the focus must be getting this story out, even if it's word vomit. Then I'll release the inner editor again to help me polish it.

It's hard though--she's very stubborn!

Lillian Robinson said...

That is my biggest hurdle. I constantly edit while I write. I know it slows me down, interrupting the flow of thoughts, but I can't seem to stop it! I am working on it. Really I am.