Hi there. I hope you’ve been reading something good this week, and finding a moment to write.
I wanted to share a quick question from last week’s live subscriber chat—a question about the infamous inner critic, from Malia Agostinelli of Collected Elsewhere.
I’ve written 14 pages (I know barely anything) and am stuck. I know where I want it to go, but I am busy being hypercritical instead of just letting myself write. What is your advice for someone just starting out, who has an idea they are passionate about, and wants to do it justice?
I so hear you about the self-criticism getting in the way of the writing! We all do that sometimes. First, you should feel good about those fourteen pages. That’s an accomplishment!
For someone just starting out, my advice is to put thoughts of “doing it justice” aside for now. It totally makes sense that you want to make sure the writing is worthy of the idea. Just know, however, that the idea isn’t going anywhere. It will still be there tomorrow and next week and next year.
When you sit down to write, ask yourself one question: “What do I love about this story?” Getting back to why you love it will often bring you back to the joy.
Nobody writes a perfect first chapter or a perfect first draft. When I sit down to write, I allow myself to “write into” the book, discovering it as I go along. And when I get discouraged, I think, “What drew me to this story? Am I still intrigued by that?” The answer is usually yes.
That’s the end of my response to the reader, but as I look over it now, I thought of a few more things to add.
When the inner critic gets in the way, think about what drew you to the story in the first place. What was the spark?
I also think it helps to have a few books on your shelf that you know you can go to for inspiration. I’m not talking about craft books (although I do love craft books). I’m talking about the novels or story collections or essays that make you want to set the book down and scribble something in a notebook.
We all have those books. As I write this, I realize I should be more organized about mine (Deborah Levy’s The Cost of Living, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Crack-Up, Walker Percy’s The Moviegoer, and, when I really want creative kick in the pants, The Stories of Jiri Kahane.
I always have to hunt them down, but it would be nice to have them all on one shelf. So today, do this:
Find three books that inspire you and put them in a place where you always know you can find them.
Read a few pages of one of those books
Write one sentence about your novel-in-progress that begins, “I was drawn to this story because…”
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading. Wherever you are, whatever you’re going through, I hope you find some joy in your writing today.
And something good to read, from the writer who asked the question of the hour: Lost in Lisbon from Malia Agostinelli’s lovely Substack Collected Elsewhere, “a curated collection of books, narrative travel features, and the stories gathered in between.”
Paid subscribers can listen to this and other posts read in my own, messy human voice, maybe with some wind chimes and birdsong.