Thursday Thirteen: Internal Editors

[[Edit: For the non-writers out there, an internal editor is that voice in your head that tells you everything sucks and is always suggesting better ways to word a sentence, even if it just suggested changing it away from that particular wording not five minutes earlier. It can prove a block to writing if you let it overwhelm you.]]

I try to imagine internal editor stuffed into an ironbound box when I’m working on a first draft. This has benefits and a couple drawbacks. First, it’s a good thing that I can’t hear her muffled cries from inside the box. I’ve found the best way to accomplish this for me personally is to set a timer for 20 minutes and just write until it dings. This works best when I know someone else is on the other side of the chat room doing the same thing and will expect a word count at the end.

The drawbacks to this are found when I finally do unlock that box. Boy, everything’s fair game then, even grocery lists. I have to make sure I don’t let her out in the middle of a draft, or I’m liable to never finish it for fiddling with it.

There has to be some middle ground. I’ve now got one draft that needs revisions and some rewriting and another that’s nearly done, just about 50 more pages to write. I need to find a routine that allows forward progress on a rough draft as I polish previous ones.

Anyway, Andi and I were talking about internal editors and I sent her this list after she mentioned hers was preventing her from gaining any sort of momentum and she pushed for me to share them with everyone. So, here you go:

 

13 Resources for Dealing With Internal Editors

 

General Pros & Cons of Internal Editors
1. Orson Scott Card’s thoughts on why we need them.
2. Dr. Ken Davis weighs in at Manage Your Writing.
3. The Thinking Meat Project compares writing and improvisational jazz.

 

Discussion of Making your IE work for YOU
4. 11 ways to take control of your Internal Editor via The University Blog
5. Turning your editor into an ally from About Freelance Writing
6. Deanna Hoak’s illustration of an IE at work and also her discussion with Jay Lake about internal editors suggests trying fast-flash fiction
7. Befriending the Internal Editor article by Beth Adele Long at absolutewrite.com

 

Dicussion of how to get around your IE
8. How to Bypass Your Internal Editor at Daily Writing Tips
9. internal editor be gone! Liam O’Donnell on NaNoWriMo and how it helps quiet the IE
10. 6 Steps from eHow — easier said than done?
11. Squishing Your Internal Editor by Amy Anderson who’s is quoteworthy for this little gem: “Ultimately, being able to edit your work is incredibly useful, but not if it prevents you from ever finishing your first draft, or even first chapter.” How true!
12. Internal Editor is Loud in which the blogger references Garthmeister J’s Tips and Tricks for Surviving NaNoWriMo
13. Turn Off Your Internal Editor and Write Your First Draft Faster from Associated Content which has what sound like crazy tips like turning off your monitor or refusing to use the backspace/delete key. I’ve heard people rave about their alpha smarts because they can only read about 4 lines at a time. They can’t go back and edit as they’re writing.

 

Isn’t it amazing how we fool ourselves?

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1 Susan Helene Gottfried 2 Nancy 3 Nicholas
4 SJ Reidhead 5 kay 6 SandyCarlson
7 On a Limb with Claudia 8 Carol 9 Savannah Chase
10 Winter 11 Peter Plum 12 nina pierce
13 Talk About My Favorite Authors 14 Paige Tyler 15 Tempest Knight
16 Alice Audrey 17 18

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32 thoughts on “Thursday Thirteen: Internal Editors”

  1. I use the spell check until I screw them up. I never use the internal editor.

    SJR
    The Pink Flamingo

  3. Sorry about that, Chelle. I edited it to add a explanation for the non-writers out there. Thanks for stopping by!

  4. I’ve trained my internal editor to shut the hell up until the proper time. She tries to escape every now and then; that’s how I know I’m done for the day.

  10. Oh… yeah… internal editor. I learned to say, “thank you” or “yeah, yeah, yeah”. It helps. Everyone has one. I’m in the group that believes my ie is trying to keep me safe. And that’s a good thing.

  19. My IE stays quiet until I get to a stopping point. Unless, of course, something is really not going in the right direction. If I ever get unburied enough to start reading non-fiction again, I’ll check these out.

  21. Hi,

    Great T 13.

    I tell my IE to be quiet till I’m done, and then allow her to edit to her hearts content when I’m done.

    Janice~

  24. Usually I just ignore the internal editor. Since when has he had anything interesting to say– ARGH!!! He’s got me by the throat!

    In any case, thanks for the links and the list. Happy TT!

  26. Great list. I have to agree with the flash fiction one. I do it a couple times a month and it really helps get the juices flowing. I’ve actually managed a couple of stories from it over the past year.

    Nina

  31. I rarely fight my editor. We work together…sorta flowingly. It’s why in chat my totals are closer to 150-200 than 400-500. I don’t mind though. I have 3 finished manuscripts, one I’m external editing right now.

    I expect I’ll be editing as I go along for the duration. Maybe it has more to do with I know what I like. One read, one change…maybe two. *shrug*

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