So, you’ve just embarked on an epic magical journey of self-discovery—also known as participating in NaNoWriMo—but there’s one big impediment that is doing its darndest to keep you from going anywhere fun. The dreaded Inner Critic. Don’t let it win. Instead, let your imagination go wild this November.
Still, that annoying voice refuses to leave you alone. “Your writing stinks,” it says. Or, “If anyone does read it, they’ll laugh in your face.” Even worse, “You think you can finish a book in a month? Ha! You can’t even finish that bag of Doritos.” Inner critics, they’re the worst.
But there are some ways to trick your Inner Critic (IC) into leaving you alone, at least temporarily. Here are 6 of them, guaranteed to get that voice out of your head so that you can start getting words onto the page.
Trick 1: Be Bold
Tell the critic, straight up, that its opinion no longer matters, at least while you’re writing. If you’re not sure that will work, then simply offer to open up a side chat, drop the critic’s notes there, and then carry on. But feel free to not actually do that. Inner critics are surprisingly gullible!
Trick 2: Set Realistic Expectations
Remind the critic that everything starts out crappy. You won’t be writing the next masterpiece—or even the next Dungeon Crawler Carl—in your first draft. But you can’t edit a blank page. However, you can offer your first draft to your inner critic—when you’re done! Bribery for the win!
Trick 3: Think Small
In other words, write on a really small screen. Perhaps it’s a computer with only 2–3 lines showing. Or maybe it’s a tablet or even a phone. The smaller the screen space, the harder it is for your critic to go back and look at what you just wrote. Tiny screen = teeny critic voice. And if you can’t make your screen small, make your text HUGE.
Trick 4: Fight Fire with Honey
Like other jerks, your inner critic won’t know what to do when you respond to their jabs with jabs of your own—compliment jabs. Each time the IC asserts something, you add a bit of praise for yourself. “This novel is garbage,” is followed by, “But it’s my novel. No one else has ever written it.” Keep a few more lines handy, perhaps in a Compliment Journal, and pull them out when needed. Lines like: “I’m writing and that’s good enough. I can finish this! All my plot holes can be fixed later. I’m actually pretty clever when I write. That’s a great line! Once this is cleaned up, it could very well be a best-seller.” Add a few of your own and plaster them on post-it notes all around your writing area.
Trick 5: Say Its Name
That is, give your IC a nickname—ideally something long and ridiculous, the better to help you ridicule it. I recommend something like Mister Bob Dobalina or Gargamel or Wexley. Whenever the voice pipes up, you clap back: “Be quiet, Wexley. Mr. Bob Dobalina, won’t you quit! Go smurf yourself, Gargamel.” Giving it a name makes it more real, which sounds bad at first, but oddly enough, makes it easier to counteract. Intangible or vague things like “stress” can be hard to fight against, but when you make them tangible, you can face them. Now get back to smurfing that smurf, er, writing that book!
Trick 6: Phone a Friend
When all else fails, call in reinforcements. Partnering up with another writer is possibly the most effective method for muting your inner critic. This is because while ICs are so self-destructive, they rarely can stand up against an attack from the outside. Pull out your arsenal of praise from Trick 4 and heap that onto your writing friend, while they are doing the same for you. Bonus point: ICs tend to be much quieter when friends are nearby.
Once you’ve used these tricks, you’ll find yourself alone with your novel and your keyboard. Don’t squander that opportunity. Sit. Write. Write as much and as quickly as you can. Critics, like fleas on an outdoor cat, are impossible to completely banish. But you can have a few days free of bugs.
Happy writing, and if anyone hasn’t mentioned it to you recently, what you’re writing is awesome! The world needs more novels like yours!
P.S. Let us know on Instagram or Bluesky what wacky name you’ve given to your Inner Critic.