Karen C.L. Anderson - Overcoming Creative Anxiety: Journal Prompts & Practices for Disarming Your Inner Critic & Allowing Creativity to Flow (Creative Writing Skills and Confidence Builders)

Copyright 2020 by Karen C.L. Anderson
Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of Mango Media Inc.

Cover Design, Layout & Design: Morgane Leoni
Cover illustration: Abbie/Shutterstock.com

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Overcoming Creative Anxiety: Journal Prompts & Practices for Disarming Your Inner Critic & Allowing Creativity to Flow

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2020933895
ISBN: (print) 978-1-64250-251-0, (ebook) 978-1-64250-252-7
BISAC category code SEL009000, SELF-HELP / Creativity

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to your fear and your c reativity.

Contents

Do you have any interest in creating a journal on overcoming your Inner Critic? read the email from my editor.

Oh wow, I said to my husband. I just got an email from my editor asking if Id like to write about the Inner Critic. I cant do that. Thats not my subject. They should ask [insert name of expert here] to write t hat book.

Those are the words that tumbled out of my mouth in th at moment.

My husband looked at me incredulously, his eyebrows raised, as if to say, Youve got to be kidding me. Youre the perfect person to write t hat book.

Im going to let my Inner Advocate interject right here to let you know that the two sentences above were added to the manuscript after I submitted the first draft. My editor said she wanted more detail. I panicked a bit. And then I let myself follow my own advice regarding creativity. I typed some words, then deleted them. I got up to empty the dishwasher, a chore I detest. I came back. I typed some more words. Then I got up to get a snack even though I wasnt hungry. I came back and typed some more words. I looked up the definition of critic and the definition of advocate. Then I played a round of Words with Friends. Came back to it. The more I typed and thought and noodled and deleted and typed and distracted myself, the more that feeling came over methe feeling I know to be my Creative Self. The feeling that tells me I am onto something: a slight buzzing or quickening in my chest, an expansiveness. My eyes soften and sometimes I tear up. My limbs feel rubbery in a pleasant way. Its like Ive surrendered to the process. And heres the thing: I get this feeling as I do my thing, not necessarily prior to doing it. I have to stumble and be awkward and make mistakes and let it be uncomfortable. And thenand then the right words come to me and I have a flurry of typing and my chest buzzes and my eyes soften and tear up and all is right with the world. I a m writing!

Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, the email asking if I was interested in writing this book.

I let it sit in my inbox overnight.

The next morning, I chatted with a friend.

So my editor reached out to me yesterday afternoon with a question that I am not sure how to answer She asked if I am interested in writing a guided journal for overcoming the Inne r Critic.

Do you have any interest in that? she asked.

I do, but I dont really know anything about it. There are so many other people who are better suited for itmore qualified. Like [insert name of expert here]. Oh jeez, if I do this, will [insert name of expert here] think Im stealing their ideas? Hasnt this subject been done to death? Yeah, I know, there are no new ideas, its about what I bring to the subject. Thats what creativity is, right? Taking an existing idea and putting through my process.

My friend looked at me the same way my hu sband had.

Creativity is the opposit e of fear.

Unknown

Heres the thing: I couldnt quite grasp that what had been asked of me was real. I was conscious of the fact that, hello, my Inner Critic was running the show and that Id created (hint, hint) a fearful experience around thi s request.

Finally, I had a good laugh at myself and responded to the email:

Yes, Id love to create a journal on overcoming the Inner Critic! The reason I didnt respond right away is because I had to have a conversation with my Inner Critic. How meta.

You are creating right this ve ry minute.

With every thought you think, you create literal vibrations or sensations in your body that your brain then translates and labels with words you know as emotions. In turn, your feelings cause you to act, react, shut down, open up, do, not doand thus y ou create.

You create experiences based on the input your mind receives and then translates. Emotional experiences, active experiences, results-based experiences, relational ex periences.

Creativity isnt only for art and music. Or technology and engineering. Or food. Or clothing. Its also for relationships and ex periences.

So the good news is that youre already creative. You were born that way.

Heres the catch: you were also born with a fear-based critic.

And the not-great (but good-to-know) news? Its easier to be critical than it is to be creative.

This is because the fear-based critical part of the human brainevolution-wiseis much older and more experienced than the crea tive part.

Your life is already artful, waiting, just waiting, for you to ma ke it art.

Ton i Morrison

The fear-based critical part of your brain just does what it does and doesnt even have to think about it. The creative part, on the other hand, can be slower and bit more awkward. And the critical part doesnt like that. The critical part fears the unknown, and creativity is all about th e unknown.

The best news of all? Your brain also includes an Inner Advocate. All thats required is your willingness and curiosity.

Your human brain was designed to create a whole and complete experience for you, and this includes your Inner Critic, your Inner Advocate, and your Crea tive Self.

In this journal you will find the writing prompts and practices I use to know and understand my Inner Critic, to cultivate my Inner Advocate, to remember and inspire my Crea tive Self.

Born from experiences internalized early in life, the Inner Critic an amalgamation of every critical thing weve ever heard (or thought we heard) from people of influence as they attempted to push us to conform to the norms o f society.

Denise Jacobs, author of Banish Your In ner Critic

Critic (noun): one given to harsh or captious judgment

Im a pathet ic loser.

No one wants what I have to offer.

Im not scholarl y enough.

Im not compassionat e enough.

I dont have enough patience.

Im too easily di stracted.

I dont have any origin al ideas.

Im a spoi led brat.

Im lazy.

I take the easy way out.