I think we are all familiar with the editor/critic lounging on the chaise in our gray matter. Oh, it's all comfy and relaxed until we pick up a pen or seat ourselves at the keyboard and then... Whammy! - it's all fangs and claws ready to rip into our soft underbellies. I am all too familiar with this creature and we have done battle. Here are a few things that I have found which have sent the vulture scurrying for the horizon or ducking behind tangles of neurons.
1. Go to a new location - somehow this confuses it and it cannot get its bearings
2. Make a date with a friend who writes - a little competition might clear your mind
3. Let the torrent of thoughts flow without stopping - don't worry if they don't make sense somewhere in the middle of your ramblings they will and that is what you will use.
4. Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones recommends you use the phrase "I remember..." and then if you get stuck, start over with a new "I remember..."
5. Write about the creature until you exhaust all its juices - take all your insecurities and lay them all over the page. Then put it away and get on with your story.
I hope some of this is useful. If you have some good tips, please send them my way.
Thanks
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