Summary:
Think of something you’ve really wanted to write…something that feels exciting to try, maybe a little risky to undertake…something you feel is urgent or important.
And you haven’t written it yet because you’re scared.
You could be scared for a lot of reasons:
- Maybe you’re a little scared because it’s a new style for you, or a new genre, and you feel you’ve don’t have the skills or experience to pull it off.
- Maybe you’re a little scared because it’s a new style, a new genre, and you’re afraid people may laugh at you for trying something other than what you’re known for.
- Maybe you’re a little scared because the subject matter is challenging or emotional.
- Maybe you’re a little scared because writing it will name other people and you’re afraid of the relational fallout.
- Maybe you’re a little scared because you start so many things and never finish them, you’re afraid this will be yet another project to add to the half-done list. You find it easier if you don’t start it at all.
You could be scared for a lot of reasons.
But if you really want to write something and you’re scared…write it. Write it scared.
Take a minute to think about this project…if you go ahead and write it, even though it scares you, and you finish it, will you look back in ten years and be glad?
If you don’t write it, will you look back in ten years and wish you had written it?
In the podcast, I address some of the reasons you may be scared and urge you to leave time in your days for some quiet mental space, some playful distractions, and some easy interactions—things to refuel you emotionally and prepare you to keep writing the next day.
Before you click away from this post or podcast, write the idea, the scene, the working title on a piece of paper or scribble it in your journal—use code if you want to hide it from others for now.
And when you’re sitting at your computer, open a file. Give it a title. And write three lines of that thing you really want to write. Three lines. You can do that. You’ve got the skills, no one needs to know yet.
It’s time to write that thing you really want to write. That thing that scares you.
Write it. Write it scared.
Listen for the full podcast.
Resources:
- To ensure you have some down time including playful distractions, check out The Play Project: A Month of Fun for Anyone (especially writers and other creatives), #29: The Energizing Work of a Playful Writer, and Take Your Play History
- #30: Action Creates Clarity
- Password protect a document (in Word)
Photograph by Ryan McGuire, via Gratisography under Creative Commons Zero terms. Words added by Ann Kroeker.
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