The Fear of Writing

Just over a year ago, right before I finished grad school, I kind of froze up. After two years of writing and revising until I developed chronic dry eye (I'm only half-joking about that), I could not write anymore. I was afraid of what would come out--i.e., crap. More than that, I was afraid that NOTHING would come out. As a result, I put the notebooks away.

I didn't want to quit, exactly. But I was paralyzed.

How did I get over it? The truth is, every time I sit down to write, something of that fear lingers. But in order to reach the point where I could sit down at all, I had to stop listening to the part of my brain that kept sending out warning signals.

Because if I hadn't, I wouldn't be much of a writer, and everything I've worked for these many moons would mean very little. And that's how I conquered this particular phobia.

-Cate-