What's your fear?

I'm afraid that I'll jump in doing everything all wrong. Formatting, etiquette, who to address to, etc.

I'd love to get my first rejection slip, I just don't know how to get around to doing it.

Fear that I'll be the only person that will love my characters.

Fear that spiders will breed with mice, creating a super race of spidermices.

Oh, right. In relation to writing...just that that I'll never be a published novelist. So no big deal.

Specific fears would include (but are not limited to) the usual things. Endless polishing of work due to OCD, word blindness due to exhaustion, writing meaningless paragraphs and (the big one) plot blockage. When a story stops (doesn't conclude, doesn't open up new ideas - just stops) I find myself facing one of my worst fears.

If we're talking general writing fears, then the dreadful prospect of having to write for a newspaper at some point in the future is a big one. If it is the type of provincial rag which carries 'front page exclusives' of cats stuck in trees, then I would rather starve than see my work in print there.

I fear that I'm a terrible writer and I don't know it or won't accept it. I can fix being terrible, but that requires being humble enough and self-aware enough to realise I have something to fix.

I hadn't thought about fears in writing until I saw this post. But you've got me thinking...

I suppose now that I'm on my 3rd major rewrite of a novel a few agents have shown interest in, that it's still not going to go anywhere. And then, another agent will suggest a rewrite once again. I love the story, but man-o-man the revisions get annoying after a while.

My biggest fear is that when my book becomes published, Armageddon will begin.

Fear of never getting anything published. But I've overcome that, through recognition that, indeed, I never will.

caw

Fear that nobody will ever love my books enough to publish them.

Fear that nobody will ever find my characters as engaging as I do.

Fear that my books will get pubbed, and I won't be able to handle the expectations that come with being under contract.

Fear that they will get pubbed and the reviewers will rip them to shreds.

Fear that they will get pubbed and the sales won't even pay out a tiny advance.

Fear that I will be on sub for the rest of my natural life with no answers.

Fear that I'm not nearly as good as I hope I am: that, in fact, I'm not that good at all.



I am a neurotic creature. This particular choice of profession really isn't helping.

I fear that an editor will call me about one of my submissions and I'll draw a complete blank.

Actually, this did happen once but I was able to remember within a few seconds what she was talking about.

That's why I love email so much. I am not a phone person.

seun said:

Fear that spiders will breed with mice, creating a super race of spidermices.

Oh, right. In relation to writing...just that that I'll never be a published novelist. So no big deal.

Click to expand...

To you, maybe.

To me that's a huge bucket of "What the hell do I do with my life now?"

That my prose is so overblown, I should just paint myself purple and change my name to , or as I prefer to be known, Squiggle.

Show off!

(Srsly. How did she do that)?

I hereby wish to make it known my name is now .

scarletpeaches said:

I hereby wish to make it known my name is now

.

Click to expand...

*Squints* But...but...that doesn't look like a turnip!

Ok, srsly, my biggest writing fear is that my characters will come to life and kick the crap out of me for tormenting them.

I've seen movies. I know it could happen.

My biggest fear is that one day I'll be on my death bed looking back at my life and realize that I'm still unpublished and that I wasted my entire life chasing a dream that I really, really sucked at.

Shadow_Ferret said:

My biggest fear is that one day I'll be on my death bed looking back at my life and realize that I'm still unpublished and that I wasted my entire life chasing a dream that I really, really sucked at.

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Oh, come on, really. At least you tried, right? That's what really matters, right? While you're dying, you should feel ecstatic that you tried. Just ask anybody here. Especially those who've had stuff published, they'll tell you how wonderful it is that you tried, and that they would feel the same way if they'd never got anything published.

caw

blacbird said:

Oh, come on, really. At least you tried, right? That's what really matters, right?

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*cough*bullshit*cough*

Great, I tried. That and a $1.95 will get me a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

BEARS.

I have no fears. I wrote a book. I WROTE A BOOK. I started it, I continued it, I plugged away, I finished it. I accomplished something. Even if it doesn't get published, I WROTE A BOOK.

I would love for it to be published and well loved, and I've sent it to its first potential agent. But even if it doesn't get published, that doesn't negate the fact that I WROTE A BOOK.

blacbird said:

Oh, come on, really. At least you tried, right? That's what really matters, right? While you're dying, you should feel ecstatic that you tried. Just ask anybody here. Especially those who've had stuff published, they'll tell you how wonderful it is that you tried, and that they would feel the same way if they'd never got anything published.

caw

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What a load of old cock. (Yes I know you were being sarcastic).

From people who are published it sounds patronising. From people who are not it sounds like self-justification.

I've written more than one book. Am I proud of myself? Yes. Am I satisfied? No.

Would I feel warm and fuzzy if I was never published? HELL NO.

I never, not once, doubted that I was capable of writing a book. To me, that's no big deal. First did it when I was eighteen, and it was shit, but even so, I wrote a book.

*yawn*

And now I want my writing to be published. Pat me on the head all you like and say "Well done," but merely writing a book means Jack shit to me.

That's not enough. Never has been.

Everybody here will get published at the same time and all y'all will outsell me 1500 to 1.

Srsly. I've been having a heavy duty existential crisis over this recently, where it's blocked me for over two months. My biggest fear is I'll never be published. No matter how many books I write, no matter how good they are, they'll all remain trunked because I can't find somebody to take them on, agent or publisher.

Dying before I've finished writing the next two books. Seriously, there are people who will kill me if that happens ...

I'm afraid of walruses. Walrusi? Walrussess?

And my editor.

Seriously, tho, about the walrusi.


And I'm afraid of being raped by a dolphin after reading that one thread on here about a week ago. Used to be a lifelong dream of mine to swim with the dolphins. I'm even going to Florida in Aug. Had hoped to fulfill that dream, then.

Not so much, anymore.