The ghosts of past critics

Re-reading some of the how to write books I've unearthed in my sort-out, I came across the concept of writing ghosts.  I hadn't really thought about this before, but we do all carry the ghosts of dozens of writing critics around with us.

When we get to school we're taught to write neatly (or at least my generation was, something that failed spectacularly in my case).  We were taught proper grammar and spelling, and expected to use it.  And we had to write complete sentences.  Which is fine for formal reports and your Nobel prizewinning paper, but it's no good for showing a reader the essence of your story world.

We have to learn to screen feedback on our writing rigorously.  If we have trouble taking ourselves seriously as writers it might be because of the ghosts of past critics whispering in our ears.  Teachers, college lecturers, university professors.  Tutors at writing conferences.  They've all lined up over the years to tell us what's wrong with our writing, and very rarely what's right.

One of the worst ghosts I have is a celebrity editor who told me my writing  was rather gentle and old-fashioned.  If I had listened to him I could have found myself writing in a style that wasn't mine.  Instead  I went home and took a long, hard look at the styles of the books he published.  And decided I didn't rate a lot of them.  So I chose to ignore his advice and continue to write in my own voice.

Exercising our old ghosts and trusting our own instincts when we write will bring us to uncover our unique voice as a writer faster than any amount of study.  Learn your craft, read all the how-to books - then be prepared to turn half of what you read on its head.

If your characters want to speak in broken sentences, let them.  Trust your gut.  Stop imitating the greats and become yourself.  Only by exorcising these ghosts of the past can we claim our unique voice and become the best we can be.