If you’re anything like me, you’ve been ingrained with this inner editor (I call mine, Mr. Editor) based upon years and years of school trying to prevent you from embarrassing yourself. Or, maybe you don’t… maybe you have this niggling little feeling deep inside when something just doesn’t sound right… or flow correctly. Whatever you may happen to have… how do we turn it off while writing?
This is probably one of the hardest things for me, as an author. Mr. Editor is insistent, ever-present, and obnoxious to a fault. He is one of those damned bonobo monkeys that have decided that this expedition would be a great time to harangue that one guy at the front. Even during the writing of this short little post, he’s *harumphed* himself into changing something at least a dozen or so times already. It’s very difficult to slap a part of your subconscious, but I have wanted to on many an occasion.
1. Use a different program. There are writing programs and online things like http://writeordie.com/ that won’t let you use the backspace key.
2. Put something on that key to make it horrible to touch. I’ve heard of everything from sandpaper to double-sided sticky tape to thumbtacks pointy side up. You can even fold a little box out of thin cardboard (think of the stuff that the back of a notebook is made of) so that it’s impossible to hit the key without forcefully pressing down and breaking the paper.
3. Use a program like: http://www.autohotkey.com/ . This free program will let you remap your backspace key (and any other one you want to, also) so that if you hit it, it’ll type ***DO NOT USE THIS KEY*** (or something like that). So, for example, after you type, Daniel sauntered ***DO NOT USE THIS KEY******DO NOT USE THIS KEY******DO NOT USE THIS KEY******DO NOT USE THIS KEY******DO NOT USE THIS KEY******DO NOT USE THIS KEY******DO NOT USE THIS KEY******DO NOT USE THIS KEY******DO NOT USE THIS KEY***… and you hit the backspace key to fix said typing and add about 50 more ***DO NOT USE THIS KEY***’s… then you just may get the clue to stop hitting that damn key. By the time you drag and select and hunt for that Delete key a few times, you just might be frightened enough to just keep typing.
4. Suppress that little sucker. I tend to do this. But instead of full-on suppressing him, I barter with him. (Yes, I make deals with an imaginary character who’s only purpose is to fix mistakes) I will sit down to write, then say something like, “Mr. Editor, if you shut your friggin’ gob long enough for me to plug out at least 2000 words, I’ll let you have free reign on a story that someone just sent me from the writing group. This is usually enough to appease the little monster (don’t let the top hat and monocle confuse you). Better yet, is when I can bribe him with something of my own that he’s been itching to get his grubby little paws on.
All told, there are an endless number of ways to turn off that little voice inside that keeps bugging you about how many times you’re using the word “fabulous”, but in the end… it’s up to you whether or not you feed the monkey some bananas. Some of them go away after you feed them. Some will stick around like a bad penny.
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