Hello to Fear

Hello When I am afraid to write an article then I know I’m where I need to be. My heart is scared, I’m about to reveal a truth. Today, it was my personal note to you, my readers. When I avoid editing the next scene in my novel, then I know that whatever it is I’m avoiding in the story is juicy, scary, real.

So, I’d ask you to write in your journal this month: what are you afraid to write? What are you shying away from? And why? How can you acknowledge your fear and write anyway?

If it doesn’t feel like you’re standing at the edge of a precipice with your writing then you’re not challenging yourself enough.

I suggest you turn around to whatever you’re running from, and say, “Hello” to your fear. Writing takes courage, and joy. We have courage when we write despite the fear, despite the day-to-day weight of surviving.

We are pushing past the “just getting by” in life, and moving into the realm of magic, into the realm of possibilities, where a soul can fly to faraway places through the power of words, where the spirit can transform itself into new shapes. Writing, like any art form, gives us the power to transform ourselves, our readers, and ultimately the world around us.

“With great power comes great responsibility,” Spiderman’s Uncle Ben reminds us. But what he doesn’t experience, and as artist we can, is JOY. The power to create is great fun. We can create and destroy worlds, emotions, and characters.

So, I say, Have fun! Play! Create! Bring joy into your heart with the words you splash across the page, for what else is there? Fear or joy? It’s our choice.

Happy Writing!

c. 2008 Beth Barany

First printed in my Sept 29, 2008 issue of Creativity Sparks Newsletter: Writing Sparks to Ignite Your Creativity. Subscribe here.