The Hesitant Blogger a/k/a Staring Down My Inner Critic

I have always thought of myself as one who is open to trying new things, unless it’s a culinary delight I cannot pronounce, much less ingest. If there’s an element of adrenaline involved, I am definitely in. Hook, line, and sinker. Who hasn’t crossed sport-bike motorcycling, bungee jumping 31 stories over the Atlantic, and skydiving off of their own bucket lists?

Guest blogging is a piece of cake, right? When I enthusiastically volunteered, I certainly believed so.  

No.

I was wrong, dead wrong. I had gleefully swan-dived from atop a crane high above the Jersey Shore, without second thought.

Twice.

So, why am I struggling with my new blog submission “Go Ahead & Be Infectious!” to the point of deadline-straining paralysis?

I feel a little weak, stomach tied in knots. It’s not flu season, could it be… Writer’s Block?

There are many types of Writer’s Block, let’s see which has me stuck.

1. You can’t come up with an idea. No, I cleared this hurdle.  Ideas are generally pretty easy to come by. They constantly surround us and are there for the taking. It’s the execution that can be the hard part.
2. You have so many ideas but can’t commit to one. Not being overly creative, I didn’t get tripped up here. I devised one blog topic, and I’m sticking to it. I actually can’t wait to tell you why we should all just “Go Ahead & Be Infectious!” If having too many ideas should befall you, run with a few and see which one(s) gain traction. The ones that don’t: file them away for another day.
3. You can’t seem to find the right words for what you want to say. That pesky and elusive verb, adjective, noun. Timeline killer. Worry not, that’s what rewrites are for. It may not be realistic to think “one and done.”  Instead of feeling stuck and trying to find the exact and perfect word on first pass, it may be best to use the “wrong” word now and improve it during the rewrite phase. If all else fails, ask a friend for feedback.
4. You keep envisioning all the reasons people are going to say your blog stinks, and it paralyzes you. “Go Ahead & Be Infectious” is catchy to the point of over-swelling readership for the month, no? Intranet servers might shut down. Who could look away from that title? I have absolutely no idea, and that’s terrifying.

Yahtzee.

Meet my Inner Critic, as effective as an anesthesiologist’s surgical paralytic agent. My Inner Critic halted development of my blog topic because it shouted loudly throughout my imagination, “Sandra, beware ravenous blog critics!” Ah-ha! 

What I have learned, though perhaps to the near-term sacrifice of “Go Ahead & Be Infectious!” is that every Inner Critic has its place. There is no place for her during the draft phase; she’s a creativity-killing powerhouse.  During rewrite, though, go ahead and give your Inner Critic some room. That inner voice of scorn can be helpful with cleaning up the first draft and putting a little bit of a writer’s fear to good use.

“Go Ahead & Be Infectious!” is going to have to wait until next time. You can bet I’ll be a bit more prepared to take my own advice on the next go-around!