When I decided to write *seriously* and for a living, I knew I needed to find a way to write with unstoppable focus, flow, and confidence. At the time, my writing practice was sporadic, and I was plagued by critical voices that slowed my pace and questioned my writing skills—and even the right to call myself a writer. At their worst, those critical voices prevented me from sitting in my chair to write.
But, I wrote anyway.
At the time, I enrolled in a Master of Fine Arts program for creative writing. This program opened doors for editing roles with Brevity Magazine and Lost Roads Press, where I got to
As a result, I started to freelance with Squirrel Hill Magazine, where I learned the importance of local lifestyle magazines and the editorial process.
Throughout that time, I taught middle school reading and writing, and I noticed the same critical voices I had in my head, were living in my students’ heads, too.
When I started to teach adult writing workshops, I noticed those same voices in adult writers as well.
All the while, I missed deadlines and everything I wanted to write but wasn’t writing overwhelmed me. The long-time overachiever part of me didn’t know how to cope with the overwhelm or my inability to keep commitments.
This was something *new* to me. And it led to so much self-doubt.
At the time, I had just two coping mechanisms to handle the critical voices holding my writing back—
……🪖 battle them into submission or
…… 🙈 pretend they weren’t there.
But the more I fought them, the stronger they grew. The more I ignored them, the louder they shouted.
Just like Aesop’s fable, “The Northwind and the Sun.”
In this fable, the sun and wind argue over who is stronger and mightier. While they argue, a traveler passes by. The sun offers a contest—whichever can remove the traveler’s coat is the strongest.
The wind blows with all its might, escalating to impossible gusts, making it hard for the traveler to walk—and yet, the mightier the wind’s strength, the harder the traveler clutches her coat. Exhausted, the wind gives up and concedes its turn to the sun.
With a gentle smile and little effort, the sun shines upon the traveler, who eventually becomes so warm she removes her coat.
Fifteen years ago, I realized I had been using the might of the northwind to manage my critical voices and negative thought patterns. The more I fought to silence them, the harder they clutched to their missions. Instead, I needed the persuasive warmth of the sun to help them feel safe enough to release their hold.
That’s when I discovered a new way to navigate the critical voices hindering my writing career—one that turns them into inner champions.
Using my 20+ years of experience working with writers and what I’ve learned from them, I’ve developed a proven framework to write with freedom from your Inner Critic that leads to unstoppable focus, flow, and confidence.
IN THIS GUIDE, YOU’LL LEARN…
THIS GUIDE IS FOR ALL WRITERS WHO WANT TO…
It’s for small business owners, entrepreneurs, academics, and change-makers who want to use the power of writing to make an impact.
So, let’s dig in.
When you feel lost, frustrated, inadequate, stuck, or awful about your writing, it’s likely because an Inner Critic is barking negative messages at you as you write—or maybe at just the thought of writing.
This Inner Critic may…
Most writers have a symphony of competing, judgy Inner Critics.
One might guilt you for writing instead of folding laundry, while another critic attacks you for not giving your projects the time they deserve.
In working without hundreds of writers from age 12 to 70, I’ve encountered a lot of Inner Critics. These are the six that plague most of writers most of the time. Each comes with its own agenda and tactics.
The Six Inner Critics that Most Commonly Plague Writers
The key to writing faster and easier is getting to know which of these Inner Critics slow you down, keep you stuck in self-doubt, or feeling like a failure.
This guide is divided into brief, step-by-step lessons and writing prompts. Complete them in order, as each reading and exercise prepares you for the next. I recommend completing only one section a day. This encourages deep integration of each lesson before moving to the next.
In fact, you’ll get a daily email reminder. Add [email protected] to your contact list who it’s sure not to go to spam or promotions.
Before moving on, take this five-minute quiz. The following material builds on the results of this quiz.
Directions: Read each statement and decide how often it applies to your writing practice. Record the corresponding score next to each statement.
0=never 1=not often 2=occasionally 3=frequently 4=always
Now, compile your score using the form below. When you’re complete, total each line. Your scores will reveal which Inner Critic is causing the most problems for your writing.
Questions 2 _____ + 9 _____ + 15 _____ + 21 _____ = _____ Perfectionist
Questions 3 _____ + 12 _____+ 19 _____ + 23 _____ = _____Taskmaster
Questions 4 _____ + 8 _____ + 17 _____ + 25 _____ = _____ Imposter
Questions 6 _____ + 13 _____ + 20 _____ + 22 _____ = _____ Guilt Tripper
Questions 7 _____ + 11 _____ + 16 _____ + 24 _____ = _____ Censor
Questions 1 _____ + 5 _____ + 10 _____ + 18 _____ = _____ Destroyer
For critics with scores….
Writing Prompts for Reflection: Take the next 20-30 minutes and reflect on what you discovered in the quiz. Use these questions to help guide your writing.
When I started this journey, the Perfectionist, Taskmaster, and Imposter formed a powerful tag team that I wrestled with both between—and during every writing session.
The Perfectionist strong-armed me into perfect sentences and perfect genre expectations—to get it *just right* the first time while my Taskmaster delivered punishing and frequent leg-sweeping reminders that perfection limited my word count and kept me from meeting important deadlines.
The Imposter would finish me with the jabs like…
…… “Why would anyone bother to read your writing when [insert any colleague/peer/famous author] does it so much better than you” or
……“It’s pointless. No one will ever read this because you’re a nobody who doesn’t know what you’re writing about. Who are you to think you can compete with [insert any colleague/peer/famous author].”
To a lesser degree, the Censor and the Guilt Tripper stirred up troubles, with the Destroyer showing up minimally but causing serious psychological harm when it did.
The truth? It took years to transform this wrestling match into healthy, compassionate dialogues with each critic.
I created this guide to hasten your own journey so you can quickly turn your critics into lasting champions for more ease, confidence, and success in your writing life.
Now that you’ve identified which critics interfere with your writing practice, let’s dig into their individual motivations and methods for getting what they want.
The Perfectionist wants everything to be 100% perfect—every time—all the time.
She’s not willing to settle for less and has high standards for writing routines, grammar, sentences, tone, structure, and rate of production. When writers don’t meet the Perfectionist’s standards, it attacks by saying that the work isn’t good enough making it hard to muster the resilience to finish projects.
For some, the Perfectionist stops writers before they start. You might know this as Writer’s Block. In this situation, the Perfectionist might convince you it’s not worth starting because it won’t be perfect.
For many writers, this Perfectionist shares its voice with a former writing instructor or grammar teacher. That first teacher who wrote in red all over a piece of their writing.
The Taskmaster wants you to work hard and be successful. While it has a positive intent, it uses negative tactics, like calling you lazy or clumsy with words—or completely inept. If you’ve ever felt a part that procrastinates, you’ll notice the inner battle between these two competing parts.
The Imposter tries to prevent you from taking any risk that might lead to failure. It undercuts your confidence and skills. It compares you to other writers who it feels are more skilled and qualified than you. It insists that you play small and remain invisible to avoid criticism or rejection. It’s motto might go something like: “If you don’t write it, they can’t reject you.” Writers plagued by the Imposter feel like they’ll never measure up to their peers, mentors, or favorite authors—so why bother.
The Guilt Tripper reminds you of all the things you should do instead of wasting your time writing. This part values hard work, manual labors, and responsibility to others while it devalues art and writing. It doesn’t want you to let others down by putting your writing first. It notices all the things left to do for work, the laundry to wash, the dishes to clean, the children to run to practice, and the parent to take to a doctor’s appointment. It likely sees your writing as a fruitless leisure activity—not for the impact and difference your writing can make in the world.
The Censor tries to mold your writing into what’s culturally or socially acceptable. It’s concerned about how your writing and your truth might change or harm your relationships and reputation. It often tells writers they can’t write certain stories until friends or family members die—so their words can’t hurt them. The Censor also has the power to silence a writer’s journal pages in fear that someone may read the journal. It’s concerned with maintaining the status quo, not challenging accepted beliefs, and outing family secrets. It’s protecting you from alienation and judgment.
The Destroyer challenges your right to exist and call yourself a writer. Its voice shames you into silence. Its intense negative energy eliminates a writer’s motivation and creativity. Writers with a strong Destroyer have always felt the call to write but have never started.
You’ve taken the quiz to know which Inner Critics are likely causing the most issues. And you’ve been introduced to each type of critic.
Now, let’s identify how they show up, what they tell you, and if they remind you of anyone.
Writing Prompts for Reflection: Reflect on these questions in your journal. Doing so will help you start the process of getting to know your critics so you can lead them, instead of them leading you.
If you’re like many writers, you likely view your Inner Critics as enemies holding you back from writing and publishing. You might try to ignore them, argue with them, or banish them.
However, these strategies rarely work because Inner Critics have strong motivations to help and protect. They are driven to protect you from the failure, rejection, alienation, judgment, or disappointment that may come from writing. Others use your writing to seek accolades, approval, and recognition.
Whatever their intent and while it often might not feel this way, their intent is positive.
Because they act to help, no amount of ignoring, arguing, or banishment will keep them from doing their best to be supportive.
You don’t need to battle them to win them over. You can approach them with empathy and compassion to create a collaborative partnership.
The truth is that Inner Critics have no power to act—only to judge us and push us. They provide what they consider counsel and create the exact right messages that get us to write (or not write) how and what they want.
They are deeply scared of what will happen if they don’t intervene and say something. Without getting deep into the psychology, their ultimate goal is to protect a part of you that is deeply *vulnerable.
Yet, we still hold the power to decide.
*Inner Critics might be protecting a part of you that was deeply wounded as a child. If you sense this is the case, you should consult with a licensed mental health provider to explore and heal that part of you before doing a deep dive into Inner Critic work.
Before reading on, reflect on the following questions in your journal. For this exercise, focus on one Inner Critic. You can always return to this prompt to explore your relationship with additional critics.
Often just naming a thing takes away its power. But for Inner Critics, it often takes a bit more work to transform the relationship from combative to collaborative.
Our critics yearn for validation, compassion, and empathy. And when we provide it, they start to trust our leadership and quickly become allies to our writing and publishing goals.
Before starting this work, it’s important to enter a grounded, centered state of mind where your Inner Critics feel safe.
When we are grounded and centered, we get to experience being what the IFS community calls, “Self.” The Self is wise, strong, and loving. It’s the truest version of ourselves. We know we’re in Self when we feel connected, curious, compassionate, confident, calm, clear, courageous, and creative.
As a writer, you might also notice the Self when you enter the flow state.
Before you begin, take a few moments to open a grounded, connected state of mind. Or, if you’d prefer, listen to this brief guided meditation.
Mirror your Inner Critic. Tell it that it makes much sense that they feel this way and say these things.
Inner Critics rarely know the harm they unintentionally cause in their effort to help. That is, until we let them know.
When my client Elizabeth first started working with me, she longed to write about a deeply personal family experience. One of those experiences that family’s never talk about or admit.
But her Censor prohibitor prevented her from even journaling about it.
When she listened to its concerns, she sensed the worry and fear it held about revisiting an old family trauma. She heard its concern that her family might abandon her if she wrote about it, so she took the time to honor these concerns.
After acknowledging these fears, she shared the pain that came with silencing her voice. She knew that the only way to heal was to confront the trauma head-on and explore it through writing. This would help her make sense of her experiences and come to terms with them. Once her Censor understood Elizabeth was on a path of healing and growth, it easily let go of its role.
Helping an Inner Critic realize this paradox is often central to getting it to trust your leadership and to let go of the role it thought beneficial.
Sometimes the Inner Critic is happy to step aside. In fact, they can be delighted to take a seat because they are exhausted from all that work protecting us from harm. Other times, they might like you to offer them a new, supportive role. And there are still cases when they refuse to let go. In these situations, they often just need extra time to learn to trust your leadership.
Discover what your Inner Critic needs to trust your leadership. Explore these prompts in your journal.
Once you’ve developed an alliance with your Inner Critic, you can turn its once harmful messages into affirmations.
You can turn, “Your writing is terrible” into “You’re a terrific writer.” Or you can transform, “No one will ever want to read this” into “You have an abundant audience that can’t wait to read this.”
In your journal, write down the common negative self-talk of your Inner Critics. Then, turn them into positive affirmations that can help you write with more confidence.
This is just the beginning.
Writers I coach almost always have an Inner Critic (or several) setting on their shoulders who thinks it is helping, but that is actually holding them back from their fullest potential as writers.
It’s normal.
You’re reading this because you hold a story, a collection of wisdom, or a big juicy truth the world needs—that someone needs.
Your words. Your message. Matter.
Getting to know your Inner Critic s will help you write more quickly, easily, and confidently.
Use the exercises in this guide to befriend your Inner Critics so you can write more articles, essays, blogs, emails, and books and maximize your impact and make a difference in someone’s life.
The writers I work with are creatives, small business owners, and academics who are writing their to impact—and by extension creating successful business ventures and professional careers.
Rachel started by learning how to write personal essays to grow her platform. Now, she’s a regular contributor for an international blog, widely published in literary magazines, and wrote her first chapbook as a supplement to her signature offer.
Jenn and Catherine, two tenure-tracked psychologists, wanted added accountability and support for writing a textbook.
Bri wanted help outlining and writing a self-help book that supports her coaching work and public speaking so she can leave her lab tech job.
After retirement, Sandy wanted to learn to write newsletters, blogs, and creative personal essays so she could share her wisdom and disrupt how people with substance use disorder are treated and cared for across organizations.
Helen, a retired student teaching supervisor wanted to make the shift from publishing peer-reviewed articles to publishing flash creative nonfiction. Today, she’s widely published across literary magazines and has earned a Pushcart Nomination.
Successful writers all have a trusted coach, mentor, and editor on their team—cheering them along and helping them navigate their Inner Critics and the confusing world of writing and publishing.
I happened to be all three.
In my program The Writing Circle, you get everything you need to write and publish your way to making a difference.
How to join ? Email me at [email protected]. I’m a one-person team and will return your email to set up a quick session so I can tell you about everything waiting for you inside.
This guide covers my favorite, all-natural, neuroscience-tested strategies to boost your focus and motivation.
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