Current Project: Shadows, Inc.Status: Still developing the backstory...
The other day I came across a link to a YouTube video by Jay Smooth, a hip-hop video blogger. You may have seen some of his vlogs, but the one I'm talking about here is called "Beating The Little Hater" (embedded below). I clicked on it out of curiosity and then found myself nodding in total agreement. You see, the "Little Hater" is that voice inside your head that tries to sabotage you. My Little Hater happens to use the same tricks as the one in Jay Smooth's head -- perfectionism and procrastination.
My Little Hater gets the upper hand by whispering that I don't know enough to start writing. That every word needs to be perfect. That if the words aren't perfect, then I have no business writing. That if I keep procrastinating--that is, if I read yet another book on how to write or take yet another online writing class or research yet another fact on the internet--maybe, eventually, I'll be able to get the words just right.
Of course, all of that is nonsense. Still, that little voice--that Little Hater--is ridiculously easy to believe and oh, so very hard to ignore. And it seems like the longer I listen, the more power it has. It does me no good to argue with my Little Hater; sometimes the voice seems even stronger if I engage it. The only way I've found to silence it is to put my fingers on the keyboard and...wait for it...WRITE.
What about you? Do you have a Little Hater living inside your head? If so, what tricks does yours use to sabotage you and how do you deal with it?
9 comments:
Interesting blog and video, Deb.
There's a Little Hater inside my head that says I'm not really a writer, I'm not that good, but I know how to work and put out quantity and that will eventually push me to the level of quality that will make me feel like the writer I want to be, by continually writing and making myself better.
You can't control the inside feelings but you can control your production by sitting down and writing and gathering around you people who can make you better.
You are a good writer- write that's the only way to get better.
Did you post this for me? This is soooo me. I laughed when he first mentioned working with the internet. He does a little toss up with his arms showing his frustration at what a time suck the internet can be. LOL.
Yes, it's a spiral. I miss a day, feel guilty, so I don't write that day and feel more guilty. Next thing I know, a week's gone by and I haven't written a word.
LOL, Debbie! This is me all the way about everything. Writing. Housework. Exercise. Etc. Lately it's been my blog because I've totally neglected it for close to 2 weeks (maybe more? crap) and it just keeps getting worse because I feel like have too much to say for one post, then a minute later I feel I don't have enough. I think I've gone schizo.
I can't speak for all writers, of course, but I can speak for all writers I've ever talked to about this subject, and 100% of them have agreed with Jay Smooth and you. Call them the "Ladies in the Attic" or whatever you want, we all battle this alter ego of ours that is so persistent in reminding a person she isn't good enough, isn't clever enough, she might as well just stop and save herself the trouble of writing and some hapless soul the trouble of reading her drivel.
I think you made a brilliant discovery -- "It does me no good to argue with my Little Hater; sometimes the voice seems even stronger if I engage it. The only way I've found to silence it is to put my fingers on the keyboard and...wait for it...WRITE."
That's the secret. You can't get rid of the monsters, you have to learn to co-exist with them.
Great post, something that strikes recognition in all writers no matter how far along the journey they are.
LOL, Deb! The P&P tricks must be popular ones! I guess we can always fight back with Nora's advice that it's OK to write crap because it can always be revised.
Thanks for sharing!
Debbie -- I've been thinking about what you wrote yesterday as I write today. Sometimes while battling a deadline, good writing gets shuffled aside for storytelling. I don't offer that as an excuse for shoddy work, but it is an explanation why some sentences aren't perfect.
Anyway, I wanted to add something that is hardly unique, but it's this: Perhaps perfection lies in the imperfections. If perfection were the goal for a flower, for instance, handmade silk could trump nature every time. Perhaps it is in the little ways a writer is not perfect that his or her voice springs to life.
Alice- you are my idol in writing and in life!
"If perfection were the goal for a flower, for instance, handmade silk could trump nature every time. Perhaps it is in the little ways a writer is not perfect that his or her voice springs to life."
LOL, Paty. Tee-hee...
First of all, he's cute! :) Second, this was great, Debbie!! I'm so glad you posted this. It's always nice to hear it when other people say it, from all walks of the creative life. He's right, it's such a spiral. Good post!! :)
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