Excerpt from "Calming the Inner Critic"

 Excerpt from

Allegra Goodman: Calming the Inner Critic and Getting to Work

They say writing is lonely work. But that's an exaggeration. Even alone at their desks, writers entertain visitors: characters of a novel, famous and not so famous figures from the past. On good days, all these come to the table. On bad days, however, only unwelcome visitors appear: The specter of the third-grade teacher who despaired of your penmanship. The ghost of the first person who told you that spelling counts. The voice of reason pointing out that what you are about to attempt has already been done — and done far better than you might even hope.

For the rest of the article click on Allegra Goodman at NY Times Writers On Writing.