Originally Posted on We Write Fantasy: A Writer’s Journey ~ Facing Fear
I have a confession to make. All writers, no matter their success or failures face the same inner demon.
Even now, it is difficult to put into words the occasional bone-deep, mind-numbing fear we have to write. Crazy isn’t it? Our greatest passion and the thing that drives us becoming the one thing we struggle most with. I’ve known and heard of a similar thing happening to other artists and musicians. It is an age-old struggle, where genius and madness blur the lines. Those with the most genius face the worst inner demons.
I am not a genius by any stretch of the imagination, but like so many authors and artists before me, I feel very deeply. Since I was little I’ve always been able to sense other people’s emotions and empathize with their struggles. I looked at the world around me, in all its beauty and ugliness and clung to beauty and the dream of it that lived on inside my head. And while this trait has often helped me navigate tricky reality, it is also my greatest enemy. I’ve spoken of this before with several people who go through a similar struggle and know I’m (thankfully) not alone in this.
I wish I had the right words or research I could give you to “fix it.” I’m not sure if there is a way when the problem stems from our own innate insecurities. I often think in terms of impressionist abstract, but I’ll try to explain in linear.
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Jennifer Silverwood 