rebeccakuder

Dear Inner Critic letters (January, 2026)

photo: shadow of human standing on sidewalk

[On a recent solo writing retreat, I noticed I needed to write something before I started writing. Here’s what I wrote.]

5 January, 2026 (Day One)

Dear Inner Critic,

It’s been a while. I have not really had much to say to you, but I noticed lately you’ve been sneaking in the back door of my thoughts, leaving plastic bags of rotten produce, a little stinky, I noticed you by the smell. Very sneaky, to find ways other than your usual mean notes scribbled on scraps of paper or your megaphone in my ear in the dark when I’m trying to sleep. The bags of yuck are not welcome, I asked you a long time ago to take them out to the compost, it’s almost as if you are digging up the junk from out back in order to bring it to me—why? I don’t need that stuff, those nasty packages, it can all just go back out there to fester & rot and make new soil. I do not need to smell its process. If you are trying to get my attention, just ask, just give me a face to face, just say what you mean. In the meantime, I don’t need your stinky parcels. I’m glad I realized it was you so I could remind you. I want you to find something else to do with your time & your trash bags. I don’t need your shade. Right now I’m trying something new, so just let me do it. You do your thing, somewhere else.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Love,
Rebecca

***

6 January, 2026 (Day Two)

Dear Inner Critic,

First of all, I can hear you muttering about how I didn’t do enough yesterday. That is your opinion. But I am not a machine. I don’t need to defend myself to you, but I will say that I needed some transition time, to get settled into the space & the time & the project. It’s not like I did nothing! Yes, I watched a trashy movie & took a bit of time to walk & shop. No I did not start that blessed Cat book yet. But I am going to give it a try today, and besides, who is in charge here? It’s me, not you. You are just a voice in the distance, you are not the one writing this novel. You are a pebble in my shoe, to be perfectly candid. At the very least, could you find something else to do, in this cute little town? Could you just take a day off, please?

Thanks for your help!

Love,
Rebecca

**

The good news is that I had a couple more days on the retreat, but felt no need to write any more letters. So I just spent the time working on my new novel. Stay tuned…

rebeccakuder

Grateful for connections (sweet review of Dear Inner Critic)

photo of cover of Dear Inner Critic: a self-doubt activity book

Grateful to Kathy Engisch of Teseract Books in Yellow Springs for her kind words about Dear Inner Critic: a self-doubt activity book.

p.s. Boycott Amazon and big box stores! Support your local, independent bookstores! These people and places support human culture, and they are vital to our survival!

rebeccakuder

Dear Inner Critic—Interview by Ariel Gore

sepia tone image of human, on the floor, with papers and material spread out, writing on a notecard.

I am so grateful for Ariel Gore‘s invitation to chat about Dear Inner Critic: a self-doubt activity book and other salient things. Read our interview here. Ariel’s Literary Kitchen (aka School for Wayward Writers) is where Dear Inner Critic was born, so to share the book’s story there warms my heart.

If you are like me, you know in your bones that these times call for much inspiration and fortification! So please do whatever you can to support independent, collective, human-scale publishing, and eschew the monsters of big capitalism!

Head over to the Literary Kitchen’s Underground Book Shelter to purchase fabulous, unique, humanity-expanding books.

rebeccakuder

Dear Inner Critic: a self-doubt activity book

Dear Everbody,
Great news!
Dear Inner Critic: a self-doubt activity book is now available!
Read more about why you will want this book.
Learn how to buy online at Literary Kitchen, or visit the independent stores mentioned below.
Love,
Rebecca

NOW AVAILABLE:
at Epic Book Shop or Dark Star Books in Yellow Springs, OH
& at Secret World Books in Highland Park, IL
& Online from Literary Kitchen!
(Subscribe to the BLOG for updates.)

**

You’re invited to play!
Devote 30 days to creative freedom; unlock the long con of confidence; and dissolve self-doubt.

Even if you’ve been living with insecurity all your life, today can be different. This book offers a flashlight to guide you through the wilds of self-doubt. Between these covers you’ll find fun and creative strategies to quiet your negative self-talk.

You’ll write, draw, imagine, demystify—and maybe even befriend—the inner critic. You’ll set boundaries and gain room for creativity and joy. Using ingenuity and self-care, these activities let you play your way toward creative liberation.

**

Praise for DEAR INNER CRITIC: a self-doubt activity book:
“Rebecca Kuder writes magical fiction and memoir with a voice so confident and agile, you’d never imagine she struggled with an inner critic. When I heard that she was not only well acquainted with self-doubt but had found ways to befriend it and play with it to the benefit of her art and happiness, I knew I wanted in on the secrets. This guide is a gift. Let Rebecca Kuder’s genius guide you to ignite your own.”

—Ariel Gore, author of The Wayward Writer (Summon Your Power to Take Back Your Story, Liberate Yourself from Capitalism, and Publish Like A Superstar)

rebeccakuder

quiet, but things are happening

photo of cup of tea and boots overlooking pond

I’ve been quiet over here, but very busy.

In 2023, I took a fabulous year-long online writing class with Ariel Gore called Mavens of Mythmaking. Some highlights:

  • I completed a short story collection called What To Keep, for which I am seeking a publisher.
  • I finished a full revamp/revision of my novel The Watery Girl. This year, I will seek publication.
  • The memoir about my childhood home continues to emerge and evolve—in fragments and fractals—which, I am learning, is how this thing is meant to be written. Some day it will be a book.

My newest book, Dear Inner Critic: a self-doubt activity book, grew from years of renegotiating my relationship with the inner critic. Many readers have attended workshops and reframed self-doubt with me. Thanks for your good company! (Who knew a handful of tricks would grow into a real book?!)

  • This book is built from L-O-V-E. My keenest hope is that it will help people free the creative urge. (If I have anything to offer humanity, this book is it.)
  • On the journey toward creative liberation, I have trodden this self-doubt path myself. The tricks in this book have changed my life.

Soon, Dear Inner Critic will be available from the Literary Kitchen (literarykitchen.org). Please subscribe to my blog or follow my instagram for more information.

rebeccakuder

bookmark

Looking for a bookmark last night, I found an index card with a quote on it, from Michael Ondaatje’s In The Skin of a Lion, which is one of my favorite novels of all times.:


“The first sentence of every novel should be: ‘Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human.’ Meander if you want to get to town.”

Despite how elusive achieving “order” feels to me (and despite how much I prefer to just write lyrical ephemera), I want to be able to provide reassurance, order that is at least “very faint, very human” and I want the reader to trust the storyteller/narrator.

I want to learn how. I’m eager to learn how, as hard as it is and as much as (why?) it terrifies me.

rebeccakuder

“a shareable heat” (Alexis Pauline Gumbs interviewed by Ariel Gore)

I’m savoring the latest from Ariel Gore: her school-in-a-book called The Wayward Writer: Summon Your Power to Take Back Your Story, Liberate Yourself from Capitalism, and Publish Like a Superstar.

I’ll post about this book and what it helps manifest at intervals. Here’s a sliver of wisdom and heat for today.

On p. 31, Ariel Gore is interviewing Audre Lorde biographer Alexis Pauline Gumbs.

Ariel Gore: “What else should aspiring lit stars know about their lit star life?”

Alexis Pauine Gumbs: “Audre Lorde wrote a poem for her children where she said: 

‘Remember our sun

is not the most noteworthy star

only nearest.’

As ‘lit stars’ it matters where we are, it matters who we impact. It is not so much about our brilliance, or being the brightest and out shining other stars. It is about being close. Close to a shareable heat. It is about whether or not our communities can utilize the solar power in our writing to grow something that nourishes them for real.”

***

(I adore this notion of shareable heat. Here’s some shareable heat in sonic form, manifested by Damon Locks/Black Monument Ensemble, which you can enjoy here.)