When I meet people that I admire, people who are doing with their lives many of the things I desire to do in mine, I like to sit at their feet and learn. Which is why, at my writer’s conference, I attended a class taught by Marsha Ward. The Marsha Ward. The very founder of ANWA (American night writers association) Marsha Ward. I may or may not fan girl over Marsha Ward just a little bit but that is beside the point.
The point is, I knew Marsha’s class would be filled with treasure but I didn’t know that, picking up one simple coin from her mounds of gold would transform my way of thinking.
“I believe there is danger in thinking our work is “special” it puts tremendous pressure on us to come up with the “perfect” manuscript and takes all the fun out of writing.” ~Marsha Ward
What a relief! My work doesn’t have to be special. And the very fact of the matter is that my work is not special. Before you fear for the state of my self esteem and begin showering me with thoughtful affirmations let me reassure you that this statement has empowered, emboldened and enlightened me like none other before.
Because “special” is very subjective and “perfect” is impossible, believing my work should be either of these things was all the fuel my critical voice needed to stop me in my tracks.
“The only purpose of critical voice in creative writing is to stop you.
It’s a protective mechanism that will keep you from making a fool of yourself by doing anything as risky as producing a literary work and sharing it with the world.” ~Marsha Ward
With this new understanding I can now quiet my critical voice by assuring it that I in no way would ever dream of trying to create something special. “Nothing special is going on here.” I tell it . “I’m just having a little fun.” And freed from it’s constant negative chatter, I am having fun. So much fun.
But the best news–the very best news–is that this understanding is not limited to creative writing. This understanding has helped to hush my critical voice in so many other areas of my life. Tweaking Marsha’s quote from earlier, I think it’s safe to say that…
There is danger in thinking life must be “special” it puts tremendous pressure on us to come up with the “perfect” life and takes all the fun out of living.
I see now that my critical voice loves it when I demand “special” and “perfect” for my life. With these ideals at the forefront of my goals I am easily stifled from taking risks or sharing myself with the world.
But guess what critical voice, “special” is no longer my thing and it’s about to get real up in here. So look out. This girl’s about to have some fun.
And there’s no telling where that will lead me.
