Each of us has a variety of “inner selves.” You may have heard mention of the Inner Child or Inner Critic. However, you may also have an Inner Parent, an Inner Judge, an Inner Leader, an Inner Nonfiction Writer, an Inner Fiction Writer, an Inner Coward . . .

I’m not saying you have multiple personality disorder, but each one of us has many different voices, or “energies,” within us that can be accessed to help us achieve our goals -and many that are better off suppressed. However, you can’t just push the voices, or selves, that are hindering your writing down in an attempt to quite them or stop their negative influences. This will only cause them to rise up all the stronger.

If you can identify the self or selves that make it difficult for you to write, you can learn to understand them. Find out why they exist and what they are concerned about. Then you can address those issues to deactivate their energy.

Find opposite personalities to bring out that will help you write. You can discover within a voice that is your Organizer Self or your Responsible Self, for example. You possibly can locate your Journalist. By asking these energies to join you during your writing periods, you will have an easier time getting organized, meeting word counts or deadlines and getting the words to flow as soon as you sit down to write.

To discover your inner selves, pay attention to the voices you hear in your head, the different energy you feel in your body at different times, such as when you procrastinate, find yourself editing as you write or criticizing your work, getting distracted, writing in a focused manner, easily meeting deadlines and word counts, etc. See if you can get in touch with these energies or voices. Speak to them. You can ask questions and write down the answers you get.

By becoming aware of the different selves inside you, you increase your ability to “manage” them in a positive manner.

If you want to learn more about this technique, research Voice Dialogue, which was developed by Hal and Sidra Stone. I often use this with my clients.