Two Exercises to Work With the Inner Critic

By Michele Venne

So often, the inner critic is our own fear of judgement from others that we blame for not making our art public. Actually, it is the battlefield of our creativity, where one side is the ego with its criticisms and opinions about whether or not we are any good at all, and on the other end is our heart, tender and bruised from the careless stomping of the ego, critics, and perhaps well-meaning friends. Should we share our work with others, allow it to see the light of day?

Return to the question, “Why do you write?” If the answer is that you write for yourself, then it’s you that is engaged in a battle of wills with the ego, who perhaps has a near perfect record of wins. Decide if you create because you heed the soft, gentle whisperings of your Muse and know that you are asked (sometimes prodded and shoved) to bring forth something that others need to see or read or hear or taste or feel. If this is your reason, then hush the ego and allow the Muse to direct your hand. There is great joy to be discovered in present-moment creation, when we toss off the confines of how the art should show up.

Exercise #1: Think about the question asked in the previous paragraph, and allow your answers to guide your hand or your eye or your feet. Keep asking, continue to create, back and forth until you arrive unequivocally at the point where it doesn’t matter if criticisms arise from within or are felt from outside yourself. Can you allow yourself to be fulfilled simply by playing with your Muse and wholeheartedly investing in your art? If not, that’s okay. If you’re teetering, keep asking, continue to create.

There are many places I have written, sometimes out of necessity, other times only for the chance to practice the ability to slip away from the judgement of the inner critic and into the present where there is only the pen and the paper and the direction of flow. How do I do this? Practice. I practice shutting out visual and auditory stimuli, so I write in crowed places and while waiting in line for the bathroom and at the beach.

Exercise #2: Begin in your favorite place, and train your critic to sit and stay while you paint, write, compose, dance, photograph, cook, or sculpt. Then set a timer to interrupt yourself, or prearrange for a friend to phone you, mildly disrupting your creativity. How quickly can you return to where you left off, slipping away from the distraction and back into the flow? Gradually begin to lengthen the time between your creative bouts. A couple of hours to a day to a week. Can you return to the thread? Try finishing the chapter or the song or the painting, and when you return, pick up the pen or the brush and decide if you would do something different, finish the chapter or the story or write the last stanza any differently that you have already. This will help you discern if you can be comfortable with leaving something unfinished and trusting that whatever emerges when you return is what is supposed to be there. Is there a right way or a wrong way? No. This is just a suggestion for honing your focus and becoming more intimate with your creative process.

Michele Venne published her first novel in 2008, which was followed by another five novels and two collections of poetry. All of her books include an introductory “Dear Reader” letter and concludes with “Questions to Ponder”, as she encourages readers to contemplate their opinions and beliefs of societal ills. Michele lives near Cave Creek, Arizona, and devotes herself to the joys of riding her horses, tutoring, writing, and yoga. http://www.myjoyenterprises.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michele_Venne

http://EzineArticles.com/?Two-Exercises-to-Work-With-the-Inner-Critic&id=8686173

Image courtesy of [stuartmiles] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Related posts:

1. Does the Egg Timer Really Work? By Cynthia L Hatcher As a writer, any little trick...
2. Everyone Is A Critic Finally, we remember that the ideas for our creativity come...
3. Create Your Own Writing Exercises Creating your own writing exercises needn't be difficult. It can...
4. Creative Writing Exercises to Get Your Writing Flowing Again Creative writing can be a wonderful hobby as well as...
5. Four Creative Writing Exercises You Can Start Right Now Creative Writing can be a daunting task for a beginner....

Tags: creative writing, creativity, inner critic, muse, writing

Category: Guest Writers