Entry 223: My Inner Critic

I’ve never been good at keeping a journal. It all boils down to consistency. There are days when I skip making an entry. Life can crowd out the time I need to write down my thoughts about a day’s events. I’ve also been reluctant to pose as an expert on the writing process. If I knew anything of value about writing, my work would already be in print. I went out on a skinny limb in 2022 when I shared my 365 days of thankfulness. The exercise forced me to put myself out there with my soft belly exposed. Thank you for joining me on my journey in the written word. Therefore, I plan to keep a journal in 2023 to document my progress. I will call this post Entry 223: My Inner Critic.

Note: I consider editing an important part of the writing process. Editing is where all the artistry happens.

My morning writing before I started Entry 223: My Inner Critic

I didn’t have time to review all the chapters I needed to scan during my Edit of Amazing Buchanan and the Beast. The vice of my self-critic has been very active lately. She keeps telling me that all my efforts are useless. The inner critic claims I am wasting my time. I still press on because my futile efforts don’t matter in the grand scheme because I write simply because it is as essential to me as breathing.

I did manage a Golden shovel Poem this morning. The Robert Frost poem I am using now is The Road Not Taken. I am well aware of these alternate roads since I’ve encountered many of them. Sometimes I wonder how my life would have been if I’d made different choices. It is too late to turn back now.

The book I am currently reading right now and Entry 223: My Inner Critic

Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth reveals how few choices were open to women in the early 1900s. Lily knows she needs to increase her income. She asks Gus Trenor to invest her money because she can’t do it herself. Women didn’t do that sort of thing. Gus is the husband of her friend Judy. Lily attends a wedding and runs into Gerty Farish, the cousin of Lawrence Selden. She came to the wedding with him. The reader first sees that Gus might have ulterior motives for helping Lily with her finances at this wedding.

What I’m listening to right now and Entry 223: My Inner Critic

Rooster is listening to cool Jazz in the background. I wanted to stick with his selection today instead of picking something of mine. I am not sure of the artist. It is one of those YouTube stations that play albums according to the music category you select, or at least I think that is how it works.

Who is Molly Shea?

Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh.  To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.

Be sure to follow Molly on Twitter!