The Siren on my Shoulder
The “Skinny” (a.k.a the Inner Critic) who sits on my
shoulders is a sneaky lady. Often she is the cliché whisperer that tells me I’m
not good enough…that I’ll never get an agent…that I suck, Suck, SUCK. However,
she’s not always negative. In fact, she’s most dangerous when she’s flattering
me.
“That’s genius, Bret.”
“Ohhh, that line will
get them.”
*knee slapping
laughter* “You’re good. So good.”
By stroking my ego, there are times when my Skinny lulls me
into complacency. She lets me get away with good
enough, instead of striving for greatness. She makes me press SEND before
the manuscript is ready. She makes it hard to understand how others don’t see
my brilliance. She gives me false hope and then kicks me extra hard when I
fall.
As Katherine posted this week, there are times to listen to
your Skinny…but no matter if the siren sings praise or poison, listening to her song
should always be done with a careful ear.
2 comments
Yeah, this is such a difficult balance to strike. I vacillate between thinking my stuff is amazing and then despairing that no one will ever consider it worth reading. So is this the work of one siren? Or are there a couple of them hanging out on my shoulder?
I knew when it said Siren she was going to be tricky. Luckily, I have the siren NEVER! But this is good advice if she ever shows up. I'll have to look for her now.
Heather
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