Ah, the writer’s inner critic. It’s that wily inner editor who has such a way of getting in the last word (and first and middle words) on any writing session or project. Most of the time when writers speak of the inner critic, there’s a fair amount of self-deprecating exaggeration of how ruthless that little voice can be. We joke about the inner critic as a universal experience, but for many writers at one time or another, the inner editor can turn into a counter-productive tyrant.
And yet, as I wrote long ago, the inner editor is really a writer’s friend. When healthy, the inner critic is that guide in our heads showing us how to improve. Every writer needs an editor after all. Without a healthy inner critic, our writing would inevitably drown in a sea of self-indulgence. The critic in our heads drives us to be better, to discipline our technique, to exert the energy and effort to do our best—and then learn how to make it better.
So why do so many writers struggle with their inner editor? Ultimately, the problem, of course, is not the inner critic/editor or the fact we have one, but rather with certain toxic manifestations or patterns. In short: the problem is that the inner critic is all too often unhealthy. Even writers who are able to consistently access their healthy inner critic may still find that certain unhealthy patterns crop up in certain areas of their process.
The question I’m exploring today is how to increase the health and effectiveness of the very necessary inner critic while diminishing the unhealthy effects of unbalanced and ineffective toxicity.
6 Signs of the Unhealthy Inner Critic
1. Projects “Inner Critic” Outside of Oneself
Most of the time when writers talk about the “inner critic” or the “inner editor,” they’re referencing the unhealthy version, at least in part. When everything is clicking along smoothly up there in our writing brains, we usually don’t even think about the inner critic as something or someone who exists outside of ourselves. When the inner critic is healthy, it is not a “voice in your head”—it is you.
The toxic inner critic, however, is often a projection—an aspect of ourselves we’ve tried to separate into our “not-selves.”
The toxic inner editor may take on the voice of an early authority figure whose criticism shaped you.
It might take on the voice of a recent editor or critique partner.
Or, simply, it might present itself in the guise of “your readers” (who, in this instance, seem a very hard bunch to please).
Regardless, the voice is not you. You may not even believe in or agree with the criticisms, which are usually more personal in nature (e.g., “you suck”) rather than specific to the project (e.g., “you need write more active sentences in this chapter”).
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