The article I chose to analyze was written by Allegra
Goodman. She highlights the stress that writers face when they’re up against their
toughest critic: themselves! We’ve all heard the expression, “whether you tell
yourself you can or you can’t, you’re right.” Writer’s block is intensified
when the inner critic comes to call, which Goodman suggests, is around mostly
all of the time! She suggests that the best solution to this type of writer’s
block is to just concentrate on the writing itself. Don’t worry about what
people will think of your work in the long run. Don’t worry about if your novel
will be published. Don’t even worry about whether or not someone has written
about something similar in the past. Instead, lose track of time, write in a
trance, and hear only the characters in your head (Goodman 2001). When you fall
in love with your material, Goodman suggests, others will fall in love with it
too. Only allow positive thoughts to flow into your head while you write, and
your writing will come out positive. Turn to your photos, music, and dreams for
writing inspirations.
I completely agree with this author’s point of view. Instead
of being too critical about my writing, I try to just write. No matter how well
you write, there will always be room for improvement. The important part is to
take constructive criticism and use it to improve your material. Throughout
this course, I’ve learned a lot about the writer’s perspective in social media
environments. After all, the Internet has one of the widest audiences in all
publication channels! Writers may find that readers have a wide range of
opinions on their material. It’s hard to not let that criticism rush the writer’s
head and block creative juices. If a writer follows Goodman’s advice and falls
in love with their writing, it will be more engaging and exciting for readers. While
anyone can publish in a social media space, it’s increasingly important for
writer’s to cite their work. That’s definitely one of my major take-aways from
this course!
Reference
Goodman, A. (2001, March 12).
Calming the inner critic and getting to work. Retrieved June 9, 2014, from
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2001%2F03%2F12%2Farts%2F12GOOD.html%3Fpagewanted%3D1
