Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?

It’s been a busy few days– mainly because a friend of mine has introduced me to the wonders of Doctor Who, and I’ve gotten addicted! I’ve spent way too much time this last week trying to catch up on the wonders of the time-traveling Doctor. Part of it, I’ll admit, was an excuse to avoid writing. I’ve forced myself to still do it, but not nearly as much, and for one main reason.

I’m afraid of what comes next in my book.

Let me be more specific: I’m afraid ofdestroying what comes next in my book. It’s a great turning point, where some fascinating things happen, and I’m terrified I’m going to botch the whole thing and it’s going to be awful. It’s the moment where the antagonist does his worst yet and things really start to go wrong– my “big, bad wolf” moment (ha ha! Doctor Who reference! Yeah, definitely too addicted), and I’m scared of it!

I used to be able to write without fear. I wasn’t afraid of rejection, because I didn’t submit anything. I wasn’t afraid of writing something horribly, because I was already horrible. My fear now is that I’ve got something that could potentially be great, and I’m afraid I’m still not good enough to pull it off. I suppose that’s a good thing, in a way. It means I’m actually putting tense, difficult moments in my book, which it needs if it’s going to be any good. Now I just need to get off my fearful, Doctor-Who-Obsessed rear and write it! There’s nothing wrong with a first draft being horrible– that’s what rewrites are for.

Whew, feeling better already, actually. A good self-pep talk always does me some good. So what about you? What are you afraid of when you write, and how do you overcome it?