Fear of the Unknown

After such witty and informative posts I was paralyzed with the fear that I couldn't compete. Then I realized that this blog isn't a contest; it's a collaboration. So I am taking another tack and talking about the fear that keeps writers from becoming authors. You know who you are. There are books and stories in the desk and closet but you've never sent them to a publisher or agent. They aren't quite right. No one will want them. You just need to make a few more tweaks, maybe after the kids are grown and you retire.

Does that sound familiar? It's something all of us do in one aspect or other of our lives. We are afraid of failure, of change, even afraid of success, afraid of the unknown.

Many years ago I was in a writers group. Two of the members, both good writers, have had very different experiences. One was writing a gripping thriller, but he listened to all the comments and continually rewrote the beginning. He had no confidence in his own work and, as far as I know, never sent it out. The other member tried all the regular channels and then, when e-publishing started, took the plunge and put the work out. She has also been tireless at promoting. She writes romantic suspense and the books are fun, set all over the world. She is doing well. Here is a link to the good reads page on her: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2993012.R_Ann_Siracusa

Ann faced her fear of the unknown and now she knows that there are people out there who like her stories.

Every day the unknown future looms. It's easy to stay on familiar paths or even hide under the bed to avoid it. It's easy to make excuses not to try. Or you can take a chance. Face the unknown and leap into it. No matter the result, you'll have conquered the fear and be ready to try again.

Sharan, speaking from experience

Comments

[Mysti]

Great advice, Sharan! A writer once said, "Fear of success? What's to fear? You won't be successful with your debut novel, so don't be afraid! There's nothing to be afraid of!"

Now, back to the laptop to get another thousand words down.

Thanks for the inspiration!

[Ann]

Love your post Sharan... I know people like that as well. There's only one life, so I figure why not take a deep breath and take a chance.
But I do draw the line at scuba diving... If I can't breathe if something goes wrong, I'm not interested.
Thank goodness that doesn't apply to writing fiction! ;-)