S6E27: Is it really writer’s block, or are you judging your work too soon?
Full transcript:
Good morning, happy Tuesday and welcome to the Language Confidence Project, the daily dose of language courage for people who love languages and those who really don’t, but have to learn one anyway. And don't forget, the Language Confidence Project is now on YouTube, offering daily videos of encouragement to make language learning more creative, compassionate, and meaningful! So please support me by subscribing via the link in the show notes, liking my videos, and leaving a comment if you stop by. This makes a huge difference in helping others find my work, and word of mouth is the best way to let people know what i do and how I can support them, as well!
And today, if you are experiencing writer’s block, or you just cannot get your thoughts onto paper, I have one question for you.
Are you actually having writer’s block, or are you just judging your work before it’s even on the paper?
Because we have so much more practice as critics than as creators. And when we imagine what other people are thinking, we tend to find it easier to imagine their judgement, their criticism, rather than their enjoyment.
There’s a word in the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows which I often come back to. If I haven’t mentioned the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows before, it is the most beautiful book by the immensely talented and multipassionate John Koenig. He describes it as a dictionary of made-up words for emotions that we all feel but don’t have the words to express, words that, as he says, seek to capture the forgotten corners of the human condition.
Licotic
Adjective
Anxiously excited to introduce a friend to something that you think is amazing – a classic album, a favourite restaurant, a TV show they’re lucky enough to watch for the very first time – which prompts you to continually poll their face waiting for the inevitable rush of awe, only to cringe when you discover all the work’s flaws shining through for the very first time.
And that phenomenon which I think is a universal experience, that occurs when we’re talking about things that you know you love. Things you know you’re impressed by. Things you genuinely believe are special. But as soon as you try to scrutinise that thing through the imagined eyes of someone else, you find flaws. You feel that unsettled, embarrassed feeling. What does it say about me that I love this thing?
So it’s no wonder that are so harsh with our own work. There, we start out with doubts, about whether it’s good, whether it’s right, whether it shows us in a good light.
But language learners, if we’re not careful, those voices of imagined judgement, criticism, cringing, will stop us ever creating anything at all. We have to switch between writer and editor, artist and critic, performer and audience. I’m pretty sure it’s not possible to be both at the same time without cornering yourself into writer’s block.
Don’t judge your work before it exists. Your first achievement is to create. Then, once it’s on the paper, then you can set about moulding it into what you want it to be.
Have a wonderful day, and I will see you tomorrow.