Corralling Imagination: Distilling Creativity with our Inner Editor

As I further enmesh myself in the community of alpha/beta/ARC reading and my own writing practice, I come across this concept all too often and it all links back to the all too powerful self talk and inner dialogue discussion. This pitfall doesn’t happen to authors only, all creatives can be affected positively, but more often, negatively by our inner critic. Our imaginations can cook up some wild ideas. Often those wild ideas have a kernel of real potential in them somewhere, or just come to us before we have acquired the skill to execute our vision. Whichever turns out to be the case, distilling the potential from our imaginative inner world is a process I believe many creatives struggle with, and that is because we give too much credence to an inner critic rather than develop an inner editor.

For a refresher on Self Talk in relation to creativity, click HERE. 

What’s the Difference?

Let’s talk about the inner critic first. This is the term you’re probably used to hearing when we talk about feelings of insecurity, fear, or shame around our creativity. It is often the culprit that leads us down the road of imposter syndrome with no remorse and erodes our confidence in our creative abilities. Our inner critics also tend to perpetuate ideals of harmful perfectionism and park us firmly in the camp of procrastination. It is important to be critical of our work, and understandable to want to put out the best work we can, however, when those aspirations become twisted, when we are over critical and give way to this negative lens through which our inner critic views everything we do, it becomes detrimental to the development of our creative selves. Rather than giving any constructive comments on our work, our effort, or our abilities, the inner critic criticizes - provides almost exclusively negative feedback - and that becomes the soundtrack that lives rent free in our brains as we create - an activity that is meant to be freeing, fulfilling, and healing. Rather than assisting with these noble goals of creativity, our inner critics end up subverting this experience and often cause wounds we need to work harder to heal from later on our creative journeys. 

At this point, I want to move onto the inner editor. Whether we work from the beginning to cultivate an inner editor or we seek to flip our critic to a gentler, more encouraging voice I want to emphasize the need for this idea of an editor when it comes to, not only the work and evaluation of a creative project, but right at the initial stages of ideation. Initially ideation needs to be an uninhibited process. We deserve to allow our daydreams and imaginations to run wild to generate a plethora of creative opportunities from which to draw. However, unbridled imagination does not always generate useful ideas. Creativity is a more cultivated endeavour. In short, we must be able to evaluate ideas and root out the kernel of usable material from the wider imaginative inspiration. Our inner editor views our imaginings through a lens tinted with reality, practicality. The level of reality which is applied to ideas, the structure imposed on our imaginations varies, of course, from project to project depending on the goal of the work. Our inner editor is not restricted to corralling our imaginations to distil ideas we can actually execute. It can also influence our practice itself in terms of when and how we work. It is important that an editor is a firm, practical, and encouraging voice. One that, rather than tear down ideas or undermine our confidence in our abilities, pushes us to better ourselves, our practice, and our work while being realistic with what we can do and reconcile that with what we want to do so that we can reach fulfilment through our creative endeavours.

Top Tips  to Change the Inner Critic into an Editor

Notice the Critic Cutting your Confidence

The first step towards change is noticing what needs to be changed. Acknowledging the inner critic and plotting when it likes to strike is essential in changing these thought patterns. If we are unaware of when the inner critic strikes we can’t catch it and re-frame it in a more encouraging light, or brace ourselves against it.

Re-frame Critiques into Feedback

When the critic says “this is garbage” hear the editor say “this is first attempt”

When the critic accuses you of being an imposter, let the editor remind you that this is a new phase in your journey

When the critic denounces your skills, hear the editor praise your effort and willingness to learn

When the critic snorts in derision at your outlandish imaginings, call your inner editor to help root out the core of the work and help you arrive at a clear concept

Imagination and Ideation are a Playground

Amass as many ideas and inspirations as possible! And when the inner critic rears its ugly head to tell you that you can’t execute what you imagine, begin coaxing out the editor within to sift through the compilation and fence in the pieces that work well together. 

While the inner critic can be annoying and downright toxic to our creativity, the editor is often more difficult to engage with because it requires us to approach our heart with logic, to cut our imaginings down to tangible, doable pieces that fit together, and in the process we sometimes have to admit and face our real limitations and “kill our darlings”. Dismissing the inner critic can get easier with practice, especially when its claims are outrageous and we build up our confidence in spite of it. The editor is always a challenge, although encouraging, it can be tough to sit in reality while holding onto our dreams.