Last week, one of my students asked if I had any advice about dealing with her inner critic, which she referred to as “that parrot on my shoulder.”

A talented fiber artist, when Loyce sat down to write, she would hear that inner voice asking, “Who’s time am I going to waste?”

I suggested she try creating a critic file, a technique I’ve found useful over the years.

Whenever I’m working at my computer and hear that inner critic, I immediately create a second Word file, type into it whatever I’m telling myself, and then return to my writing project. If, after a few moments, I hear more negative self-talk, I re-open the critic file, enter into it what my inner parrot is saying, and, once again, return to my writing.

Turns out, my inner critic isn’t all that original. She only has 5-10 phrases she keeps repeating; and with time and the critic-file technique, even those have faded away.