Critical vs Creative

I want to draw attention to 2 things my co-bloggers said in recent blogs: Kimber Chin said she was shamelessly promoting her book Breach of Trust which coincidentally comes out the same time as my historical romance, Flower of Passion; May 1st. I disagree, not shameless at all! [& thanks for leaving that promo door open for me, Kimber]

Then there was what Michael Davis, author of Tainted Hero said: He hates the editing process. Which happens to be the feelings of a whole lot of writers. I'm just the opposite. I love it. I love tightening up those run-on sentences. Adding description that draws a reader into the story. Love finding that gem of a sentence and polishing it until it literally shines, then reading it again and saying, "Wow, did I really write that?"

It's the 1st part, getting the story out of my head & onto the computer screen that I hate.

That's because the 2 halves of my brain are almost always in conflict. The creative half needs to come first, but the critical half keeps putting its 2 cents in before its turn. In other words, my muse is constantly being interrupted. I've tried lots of ways to get the critical side to shut up and wait its chance. I even have a big, colorful sign that says "Internal editor out to lunch." I hang it above my computer when I'm working on a 1st draft. So far, it hasn't worked. Maybe it doesn't eat.

I'd love to leash the critical side until I'm ready for it. How wonderful it would be to translate the images in my head into the computer without a gazillion interruptions! At that point, who cares if I've misspelled something or if that comma should be a semicolon, that period a question mark?

So if anyone has a way of quieting the critical brain [short of surgery] to allow the creative brain to flow, please share!!!

Rose Lerma
roselerma.com