Comments on: 7 surprising ways to silence your inner editor

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 01:02:00 +0000

In reply to Marianne Post. Thanks, Marianne. I LOVE being able to take lessons from other parts of my life (music, cooking etc) and applying them to writing. I'm glad the sports-related tip resonated for you.

By: Marianne Post

Marianne Post — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 01:09:00 +0000

Thanks for sharing your struggles with your cookbook. My inner critic loves to say, “real writers don’t struggle with this.” Ha! He’s wrong. You’ve armed me with further proof.

I also had an ah-ha moment with tip #7. I’m a rock climber. When I reach a move I feel I can’t do, I say aloud “Come on Marianne, just give it a go.” It releases the pressure to climb perfectly and coaxes me to try. Going for it and failing always feels better than quitting.

I’m borrowing this climbing mantra next time I’m stuck and dreading to start a writing session or tempted to wrap up early.

Makes me wonder what we can borrow from our regular life to make our writing life feel more doable.

Wishing you all the best with your cookbook.

By: Marylou Wakefield

Marylou Wakefield — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 05:49:00 +0000

In reply to Daphne Gray-Grant. Thanks Daphne. Lots of good info there.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 03:08:00 +0000

In reply to Charli Mills. Glad you found it helpful. Thanks!

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 03:08:00 +0000

In reply to KSW. we're always so hard on ourselves, aren't we?

By: Charli Mills

Charli Mills — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 23:40:00 +0000

I like the idea of using pressure — adding or removing — as needed. Sometimes we have to pause and take account of what is holding us back. The inner editor is great for details but won’t let us see the bigger picture. Sometimes we just need to cork that inner enthusiasm for perfection! Very helpful post.

By: KSW

KSW — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 16:30:00 +0000

This was an exceptional post, D. My goodness. The way you incorporate your experiences, scientific evidence, and your own work — it validates your approach and suggestions. Thank you for inspiring, as always. I recently had an invited paper accepted for publication, but I found a substantive error after its final acceptance. Me and my internal editor were telling myself that this was catastrophic and I was berating myself over this error. After contacting the journal Editor, it was small enough to make the change at proof stage — and nothing happened. Talking to (insert name here) makes excellent sense, in my opinion. Perfection, by its very definition, is an unrealistic, unachievable ideal.

By: Alex Marshall

Alex Marshall — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 14:43:00 +0000

In reply to Daphne Gray-Grant. Thanks Daphne

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 14:31:00 +0000

In reply to Marylou Wakefield.

Your friend’s idea of naming her inner editor is a really good one. To break the editing WHILE you write habit you might want to consult this column: http://buff.ly/1ih90hq

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 14:29:00 +0000

In reply to David Geer.

Ah, now I understand! The writers’ community is the people who comment on this blog. If you want something more hands on than that, you might consider my Get It Done group: http://buff.ly/1ih8MGX