In a lecture at Vermont College, Carolyn Coman (award-winning author) once talked about her “mean voice”; it was the voice in her head that said mean things such as, what you are writing sucks or it will never get published, etc. She also noted that her mean voice was smart. She knew this because when she proved the voice wrong, the voice was able to adapt and come up with a new mean thought. For example, You will never get published, changed to You’ll never get published again. It is hard to imagine someone of Carolyn’s writing caliber having a mean voice inside her head, (She doesn’t have a mean bone inside her body) but perhaps it is inherent in writers–we tend to spend a lot of time alone with our thoughts.
Recently, my mom watched a TV special with a psychiatrist who studies brain (SPECT) imagery. He said that “negative thoughts inflamed brain areas often involved with depression and anxiety.” And that we needed to “kill” the Automatic Negative Thoughts (“ANTs”). He even talked about different types of ANTs: mind-reading (thinking someone else is thinking something bad), fortune telling (thinking bad things will happen), Thinking in absolutes (always, never), guilt, shoulds, etc. You can read one of his articles about optimizing your brain here.
My dad, a psychologist, talked a lot about a person’s power to change their perspective (i.e. Edison’s view that he didn’t fail with every unsuccessful attempt at making a light bulb, rather he had discovered another way not to make a light bulb. One more attempt down in a pursuit he believed would ultimately be successful. An optimistic and positive belief.) Or in writing, that we should focus on each success, the fact that we have completed a manuscript or taken the steps to send it out, etc.
Carolyn Coman also told us how she tamed her mean voice. She made a deal with it: The mean voice had to be quiet for an hour or some amount of time while she wrote, but after she was done, it could say whatever it wanted. The interesting thing was that after she wrote, the voice rarely had anything mean to say.
How do you tame your mean voice?
Best,
Mara
Hi, Mara! Got here via Marc…
I came across this MetaFilter thread today. It’s about writing without getting caught up in perfectionism. Pretty interesting.
When I start hearing the mean voices, I like to switch my focus to quantity over quality. I try to consider whatever I’m writing as practice. That way, even if it’s crap, you’re still learning something. And the more you write, the greater the chances that you’ll come up with something good.
Besides, what’s the worst-case scenario? You don’t publish anything. Well, did you enjoy the process? Do you like rereading what you’ve written? Can you share your work with a small number of people who love it? Maybe that’s good enough.
Comment by Ann — August 4, 2008 @ 8:32 pm |
What a great thread. I enjoyed the comment: “write when when you are mildly drunk, edit when you are mildly sober, and submit when you are totally shitfaced.” Funny.
I also noted the NaNoWriMo approach of quantity over quality and having such a huge deadline that you don’t have time to edit. I have tried NaNoWriMo twice now and have not managed more than 10 or 20 pages. Still if I have time, I may try it again this year. (For anyone who hasn’t heard of NaNoWiMo, it’s National Novel Writing Month in which writers from around the world bravely try to complete a Novel from start to finish in the month of November. Those who succeed earn a web sticker and bragging rights. Check out their website!)
One other thought came to mind, Norma Fox Mazer said she has a hat that she wears while writing her first drafts. It is too big and comes way down over her eyes so that she can’t see what she is typing. I’d need to be a better typist for that to work.
Thanks!
Comment by marami820 — August 4, 2008 @ 8:53 pm |
Hi, Mara.
I’ve enjoyed reading your posts. I’ve been working in publishing for six years now (starting when I was in college). Before I became a responsible member of society I had spent my entire life focusing on (well, fantasizing about, anyway) being a published writer. I’ve written very little since college (other personal endeavours and building my career took over for a few years), but I’m starting to get back into it a little, and it’s nice to read something from “the other side” of the publishing world, placing myself on the outside again.
I noticed marami820’s comment “write when you are mildly drunk …” and it seems that this was quoted from somewhere else on your blog, but I haven’t been able to find the original reference. I’d like to know who wrote it originally (was it you or were you quoting someone else?). I’d like to keep a copy of it around for my own amusement in the future, if you don’t mind, but I hate to take things without attribution, even if I’m just writing it down on a scrap of paper for myself.
Thanks!
Jo
Comment by berryjo — August 8, 2008 @ 4:23 pm |
OK, I just noticed that you ARE marami820. Can you tell I hadn’t had my coffee yet (and that I’m new to this blogging world, too)? I also just clicked the link in Ann’s comment to find the quote I was looking for. Jeesh, I need to bring my editorial skills into my personal life!
Comment by berryjo — August 8, 2008 @ 4:42 pm |
I’m sorry. That was probably bad blogging etiquette. The comment came from the thread that Ann posted in the first comment. It is a great thread. Take a look at it here. It was posted by Dumsnill.
Comment by marami820 — August 8, 2008 @ 4:43 pm |