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10. Writer's Block. Some say it exists. Others deny it. Sort of like Bigfoot. But either way we are terrified of it. Don't lose the muse! BIC (Butt in chair) is the best preventative measure I know of.
9. Sucking. Yup. We are all secretly afraid we're horrible at the thing we love most. Even those of us who are published! Weird aren't we?
8. Missing the window. We fret, we revise, we practically bleed to get our manuscripts in their best shape. But what if by the time we get it out there no one wants to buy those anymore? Vampires? Dystopians? Eeep.
7. Adverbs. The lazy writer's crutch. But do I find them? ALL THE TIME.
6. Adjectives. Those pesky, useless, lazy, overdone, oh.
5. Running out of chocolate. Need I say more?
4. Cliche. Have you described your MC in the first page as waking up or by looking in the mirror? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Run!
3. The computer crashing. It's frozen on me. Word has quit. And it kind of feels like you're watching your best friend be stabbed by a murderer. Okay maybe that's overkill. Maybe not depending when you last saved.
2. Did I mention running out of chocolate? How about coffee? Tea? Wine? I'm panicking just thinking about it.
And the number one thing writer's fear?
1. REJECTION. In any and all forms. Yet we all deal with this monster at every turn. From critiques to agents, to editors, to acquisition boards, to reviews and sales. But we still hang in there.
Why?
Why do people in horror films keep running into the dark forest? Or the empty house? Because if we didn't there'd be no point.
What scares you?
All of the above. It's all so true, even the chocolate. I'd add coffee to my list.
ReplyDeleteIt's all true, but sucking scares me most. There's nothing worse than spending all this time writing and revising and then thinking, "But maybe it's still really bad." :-)
ReplyDeletePretty much all of the above - but sucking and running out of Chai tea are the worst! :)
ReplyDelete#8 is a biggie. I worry that by the time I get it to the presentable phase, well, you know...
ReplyDeleteYou said it. Though, sometimes I worry that my best just won't be enough.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to know we're not alone! I definitely agree with this list. #2 and #1 are ones I especially struggle with... Eep! Well, those things, and #5, of course. ;)
ReplyDelete~Amber
Right now I'm afraid of everything, but mostly that I'm missing "something." Like, missing that obvious typo in chapter 3, or...or...or...
ReplyDeleteAll of the above but the worst is REJECTION!
ReplyDeleteYou have no idea how spot on your list is. We shouldn't fear all that and yet we do. *sigh*
LOL! The computer crashing--definitely, and I don't think that was an exaggeration. I lost one baby manuscript about a month ago (15K words). Gone, gone, gone, and I'm still in mourning. Excuse me, I need to go find a tissue.
ReplyDeleteTime suckers scare me the most. I want to beat them off with a stick when they invade my writing time.
ReplyDelete