As a writer you have to be both an editor, who has an extremely critical eye, and an artist, with creativity that is uninhibited by criticism. The two necessary skills are often at odds with one another. I've found that if I perform certain rituals I can trigger the appropriate part of my brain. For creativity I use a short writing exercise -- I write about the color blue. I typically set the timer for a minute or less and then just babble about the color until the timer rings. I don't worry about spelling, punctuation or anything that might make the inner editor come out. Here's an example, I was writing about the color of the sky above San Francisco today.
Faded blue, sunlight blue, blue like well washed denim hanging in the sunshine. Denim blue on the laundry line in the country the smell of fresh hay and the pleasant stink of horse sweat in the air. Blue covered with wispy white like a sun-dress covered in gauze, like blue paint through a fogged glass shower door.
I've found that simply focusing my mind on description tells the inner editor to go home and shut up. I'm more creative and more able to think through ideas when the inner editor is off snoozing.
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