Monday, July 2, 2012

IT'S NOISY UP HERE, HEAR?

I hear voices…
In my head.
If I told that to a psychiatrist…
I might be diagnosed as schizophrenic or delusional.
But hello? I’m a writer…
And don’t all writers hear voices?
Like the characters in their stories…
Who have conversations between themselves…
And even argue, laugh and cry…
And sometimes coo words of seduction?
Then there’s the ‘inner critic’ voice…
You know…
That voice that's always putting you down…
Saying things like:
Your writing stinks!
Who do you think you are, Hemingway?
There are so many books out there…
Do you think yours can compete?
Yeah, that voice needs to be smacked.
And there’s the 'guilt' voice…
That’s always nagging at you:
You're spending too much time writing…
You should be doing more with your family…
You're not making any money at this...
How many more years are you going to waste?
But then there’s another voice...
Beneath all the chatter…
A timid voice…
That whispers to your soul…
You are a good writer…
Keep going. You will be published one day…
People will love your stories.
No matter what anyone says, I'm proud of you.
And then…
Oh so softly, I hear children’s voices…
A chorus sweetly singing:
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…
Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.
But then...
BOOYAH!!
The Loudmouth shows up…
Wagging her head and strutting back and forth ranting:
That's right! My light is sho NUFF gonna shine!
I’ll show everyone!
I’m gonna be a York Times bestselling author!
My book is gonna be made into a movie!
And Meryll Streep is gonna play the lead!
Ya’ll will be begging for my autograph!
And ya'll will be sorry for all the mean things you said!
SHADDUP!!!
Phew!
Thankfully the other voices...
Know how to squelch the Loudmouth.
So tell me?
Do you hear voices?
Which ones are the loudest?
And do any of them have accents?

Always, Em-Musing

10 comments:

A Beer for the Shower said...

I have so many voices rolling around up here I don't even remember which is mine anymore.

Also, one of them has a very angry German accent. I'm hoping that's not the one that ends up being mine...

farawayeyes said...

I rarely her the timid voice anymore. Not sure what to do about that.

Anne Gallagher said...

LOLOLOLOL Yes, I hear voices all the time. Mine have mostly British accents (which is very sexy).

When the loudmouth shows up, I generally smack her back to the end of the line and allow the whispers to congregate at the front. And I never listen to the guilt. If I had a real job I wouldn't be spending that time with my family anyway. Right?

Jessica Bell said...

LOL. It happens to the best of us! ;)

Gossip_Grl said...

As always love the posting. This reminded me of a friend who many years ago was pulled over one night DUI jumped into the passenger seat and tried to convince the police that one of the voices in his head was driving which btw didn't work. :)

DL Hammons said...

Some of my voices speak another language that only they can understand. Think I should be worried?? :)

nutschell said...

I think all writers hear voices. Unfortunately for me, the loudest voice is usually that of my inner critic.
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Anonymous said...

hahaha.... very good piece. And reading all the comments, I feel like I am at the United Nations! hahaha

Barbara Watson said...

Love this, Leigh. I hear all of those voices depending on the day.

Misha Gerrick said...

Yes I have a lot of voices in my head. A lot of characters are quiet, though, because I have this one guy who's really ruthless about me focusing on his book. :-D

Then there's my muse, my inner censor (the guy telling me my writing sucks) and my inner editor, telling me where I can improve.

Unfortunately, my muse is very quiet at this stage because I've been editing. Not sure if I can wake her up just yet.