Getting things squared away at my house in Kansas City has taken longer than I thought it would. The insurance company just decided to pay the claim on Friday. I thought that they had decided that and sent the check two weeks ago. When I called last week to find out what the hold-up was, I found out that they had found other things to quibble about. But it finally went through, and I received a check to get started with the repairs in the house. I’m glad. A lot of work needs to be done: the wall between the bathroom and kitchen needs to be rebuilt, and the ceiling and tile in the bathroom replace. In the kitchen the ceiling and cabinets need to be replaced. The hard wood floor in the living room will be replaced along with the carpet and padding in the bedroom and the flooring in the utility room. I have a general contractor and plumber, and I’m hoping the work can be done by the end of the month. I would love to have it rented by April.
That being said, I plan to start posting three times a week. And I really need to get back to writing. I’m doing a lot of reading and outlining, but hardly no writing. It is time to get back to actually writing posts, book proposals, and just daily journaling. It’s time to tell the fear that I have nothing to say to SHUT UP, sit down, and just write. I have plenty to say; I just have to stop listening to the damn inner critic.
The post about Esther that I promised would be up at the beginning of January will be posted next week, period, no excuses.
So what do you do to shut your inner critic up and do the creative work you’re called to do?
“So what do you do to shut your inner critic up and do the creative work you’re called to do?”
If I knew that I would bottle it and have some non-critic serum always ready for those who needed it…
As it is I will pray for you 🙂
That’s great! What an amazing book that is. I always keep it within arm’s reach for whenever that critic pipes up. It sure shuts up when I read it Anne’s words, haha!
Thanks Kate. Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird is one of my favorites! Thank you for the reminder of what she does about those infernal internal critics.
Ah yes, the wonderful ever-encouraging inner critic… not! It’s something I struggle with, too, not just in my creative work but also in my daily life.
Do you know of Anne Lamott? She’s a wonderful writer and Christian from California and has written a number of humourous books dealing with faith, life & writing.
One suggestion she has for dealing with the inner critic(s) is to isolate the voice that’s criticizing you and imagine them as a person. Shrink that person down to the size of a mouse, trap them in a jar & turn the volume down. I find this method helpful, if a bit silly, because then you’re dealing with the critics head on instead of trying to ignore them.