Never Let Fear Stop You

Fear will lie to you a lot. But don’t let it stop your work.

Over the last year or so, I’ve joined several groups on Facebook. They each have a different flavor of relation to writing. Some are nonfiction, some fiction, some specifically sci-fi and fantasy.

One thing I see frequently is the fears of new writers. Fear of the direction of their story, fear of completion, fear of publishing, fear of even getting started writing.

Diving into the arts is not for the faint of heart. Hobbyist or professional, there are a lot of ups and downs in the roller coaster that is the arts.

This applies to writing, painting, sculpting, metal and woodworking, and any other art you can conceive of. The creative process – and bringing something fresh or reconceived or whatever – can be scary.

Fear will evoke the brain weasels to tell you any number of lies. They’ll let you know just how much you suck at anything and everything you can think of. Disempowering them – and telling them to go away – takes applications of reason.

From a writing perspective, I’d like to address a couple of the more common fears – and how to overcome them.

Fear of getting started

No matter what you are writing – fiction, nonfiction, business, copy, or what-have-you – you must start somewhere.

For some projects, you have a list of bullet points to use as your guide. For others, the work another did that you can improve or expand upon. But then you have projects where you are coming at it from all on your own.

This is mostly fiction but not entirely. For example, creating this article on my part took quite a bit longer for me than I would have liked. As part of my ongoing process I write and publish articles twice a week. The deadline (albeit self-imposed) was fast approaching – but I had no idea where to begin.

Some people will draft a bunch of ideas and bullet points and notions – but never go past that. They have an idea, maybe lay it out – but won’t start the first chapter.

Why? Lots of reasons, of course. Fear of failure is a large one. If you start but never finish – you fear you will look like a loser.

Even with the number of books I have published – and will be publishing throughout the year – I have at least a dozen half-finish or barely half-started works, too. I had a vision, and idea for a story – and I got the intro down but nothing past that. Or I began to get into an idea but abandoned it because I lost focus, focused on something else, or the story just stopped speaking to me.

Don’t be afraid to start. It’s better to start and not finish than never start and never finish. If you never make the effort you will succeed – but only at failing.

What if my writing is no good?

Judging the good and bad of writing is frequently subjective. I’ve read a bestseller that I enjoyed – but damn was the writing mediocre. The plot was good, the characters were bland and dull and not interesting. More than that, I’d seen them a dozen times before, and better fleshed-out in the works of other authors.

But enough people read it to make it a bestseller. So what do I know?

Writing, like any skill, gets better with time and practice. The more you write, the better at it you are.

I have been blogging at least once a week for over 9 years. In the beginning, I think my work was good. Great? No. Exceptional? No. Just good. But there was room for improvement.

Now I am a more frequent – but I also believe better – writer. Yet some of what I write, subjectively, may be judged by others as no good. And possibly, they’re not wrong

My sci-fi and fantasy works are not everyone’s taste. The Void Incursion series is pretty much sci-fantasy, but also features some weird naming conventions and is more character-driven than plot-driven. My coming sci-fi series, Forgotten Fodder, is still character-driven – but has a more focused plot and is much more hard sci-fi.

Your writing may not be any good. But that’s why before you publish you need to edit. And if we’re talking about books you need a professional edit.

So what if your writing is judged by someone as no good? If it’s in your heart to write – and it makes you happy – then write. BUT – seek and find critiques and keep striving to improve your work.

Don’t let fear of intangible what-ifs stop you.

What if they laugh at me?

It is not easy to disconnect yourself from your work. Any creative project you do and share with the world is then open to critique and criticism. Likewise, it may be laughable.

It’s not you, however. It’s a part of you, and it is your child – but it’s not you. And if they are laughing at you for being a creative and following your dream and/or doing the work – it might be better to ask if they should matter at all?

I have friends and family that don’t get me. They may find my ongoing process of writing and publishing to be laughable – but mostly I think they just worry that I am on a dead-end path. If they are laughing at me – they aren’t really friends, are they?

Often this also gets applied to the fear of the direction of your story. You might worry that it reveals insights into you that may get judged. Again, maybe so – but that doesn’t invalidate the work.

As I said at the beginning – this process isn’t for the faint of heart. But if it’s something you love don’t let fear – particularly intangible fear – stay your hand.

You don’t have to share it

I know people who have written a LOT of stuff and shared none of it. They write for themselves or they are just not comfortable sharing their creations.

I share a lot. Some is deeply personal while some is just fun. But I also keep a journal that I do not share. It’s for me and my thoughts – and nobody else needs to see it.

You can write a blog and keep it private. It’s possible to write a novel and never publish it. There is nothing out there saying you must share your art. If it brings you joy but you’re not comfortable presenting it to the world – due to any fear or just because – that’s ok.

Don’t let that stop you from creating. Just because you are unwilling to share today doesn’t mean you won’t be willing and desiring to share tomorrow. If you don’t do the work then you haven’t anything to share or show for yourself, ether. And where’s the fun in that?

Too many people in the world today are prisoners to fear. It keeps them small, unhappy, feeling unworthy, and miserable.

Art – for many of us – is joy. And the world can ALWAYS use more joy.

Don’t be afraid to start. It’s not always important that your work be good. Let them laugh. And feel free to keep it to yourself if you just don’t care to share it. That’s okay, too.

But don’t NOT create your art because of some fear or other. Writing, painting, sculpting, and other arts won’t cause you to die if you fail at them. Thus, the fear you have is intangible and only as powerful as you allow it to be.

This fear-based society needs more reason. Art tends to be a beacon of light that inspires reason. Don’t let fear stay your hand. Get the story written. Paint the picture. Be the artist you desire to be – and don’t let fear of judgment stop you.

I believe in you. Go to it!

Thank you for being part of my ongoing journey, for joining me, and for inspiring me and my craft.

This is the ninety-seventh article exploring the ongoing creative process. Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.

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