How to deal with the gremlin voices that tell you your writing stinks

I’ve been talking with business owners a lot about creative process lately.

And I just wanted to normalize this for everybody:

There are voices in your head – for nearly all of us – who bark at us. They may say things like:

What you are writing is awful.

You suck.

No one’s going to pay you for this!

Why even bother – this isn’t going to work.

Again, this is normal. And as one of my clients reminded me this week, anytime you do something new or get out on the skinny branches, fear, resistance and what she calls “the dragons” are not far behind.

We did some bang-up messaging work with her, by the way. She came up with this:
Anytime an entrepreneur does something daring to grow her business, the resistance, fear, and dragons will show up.

What separates women who get extraordinary results from everyone else is that they’ve figured out how to not let those things stop them on their rise to the top.

Pretty cool, huh?

Best of all, it’s totally true.

So, swiping her idea, and bending it to what we’re talking about here:

Anytime you write something genuine to get your work out there, the gremlin voices will probably be there, too.

The game is to learn how NOT to let those voices stop you.

For example, we recently did a campaign for a new program we rolled out. I’d given myself permission to experiment, and let go of the “standard launch formula” to explore new ways of doing things.

Writing the copy for this program, I was swarmed by gremlin voices.

My gremlin voices say things like:

Your last success was a fluke.
You are old news.
You are out of touch.
They won’t understand what you’re talking about.

Side bar: One of my biggest fears in this life is not feeling understood. On the flip side, one of my greatest joys in this life is when it’s clear I have put out an idea that someone else has received, taken in, and then turns around and uses.

I’ve experienced both the fear and the joy, and as someone who intends to one day master the art of true communication – the giving and receiving of ideas in relationship – I’ll say this: both are useful.

But, those gremlin voices!

They are like the meanest middle schoolers you can think of! They know exactly where your tenderest spots are. And that’s exactly where they poke you.

Bastards.

So, here’s what I’ve done to keep going, even as the gremlin voices shout at me to stop and turn back:

• Write each one out on a tiny piece of paper, and put them in a jar on your desk. Then, flush them down the toilet.
• Imagine giving each gremlin voice a cherry lollipop. It’s hard to talk when you have an imaginary cherry lollipop in your mouth.
• Thank them for their efforts to protect you. Strangely, gremlin voices are just trying to protect you. They also respond well to reason. I tell mine, “look, I know you are trying to save me from embarrassment, but I think I actually need to risk embarrassing myself to pull off my next project. Here, have a lollipop.”
• I name my gremlin voices. One of mine is a loud fellow, a mischievous leprechaun type. I call him Jack. He’s actually hilarious, if I stop being so uptight, listen to him, and laugh at his heckles. Naming them makes these voices less like the enemy, and more like the bunch of characters that show up to the party every time you sit to write.

The biggest thing? Just keep going. In a recent interview, I was asked, “Stella, what’s the secret to your successful business?”

I didn’t have a planned answer. But what popped out of my mouth was:

“I haven’t gotten off the roller coaster yet.”

Amen and hallelujah.

Mighty thanks to @marcusromer and Jackie Vanover for the creative process.