Writing Advice
Is Fear an Essential Part of the Creative Process?
What writing has taught me about confronting fear head-on
I keep coming back to the juxtaposition of creativity and fear. How fear seems to be an inevitable part of the creative process, and yet fear can derail the process entirely and stop us from creating before we really start.
I keep coming back to the 80 year old who asked how I dealt with the steady stream of negative comments aimed at my work as a journalist. You’re doing creative work, he said, which means you’re putting a piece of your heart out into the world every time.
I come back to how truly terrifying it is to put a piece of your heart out into the world, to be vulnerable in that way.
But then I come back to the ways we connect with others through what we create. No risk, no reward.
I come back to the ones in the arena. The woman rapping in Spanish beneath a floral canopy on a warm night in Guadalajara. My friend translated for me snippets of the rapper’s words: “these songs are personal because they’re part of who I am.” And on another night, another stage, in my Midwest hometown — the man pacing the bar before he kicked off an R&B open mic. Had he paced his apartment practicing? Had he gotten nervous earlier that day and almost not showed up?
I keep coming back to Maya Angelou saying there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. I come back to Elizabeth Gilbert saying that “creative living” is about living a life driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear. I come back to Sylvia Plath saying the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.
I come back to my writing coven’s reminder that being uncomfortable doesn’t mean you’re unsafe.
I come back to my heart pounding, voice faltering as I read aloud to a group some words I had poured onto the page just moments before, no time to polish or present a better version. I kept coming back to that group to share my writing again and again, until my fear didn’t hold the same power.
I come back to the word fearless tattooed on my ankle — a call to action, rather than an apt descriptor. I come back to a mantra worn smooth by years of carrying it around in my pocket: process > outcome.
I come back to the masks that fear can wear: perfectionism, control, ambition to meet high expectations, comfort, or a sense of undeservedness.
I come back to lowering the bar. Shrugging off some of the pressure. Taking it all a little less seriously. We’re not writing anthologies here. The brave thing is that we’re writing at all.
What role does fear play in your creative process? What helps you move past your fears to share your work?
If you’d like to try this type of writing, check out Finding Your Voice Writing Group. Taking writing prompts from poetry, this group uses an intuitive writing practice designed to help you move past your inner critic and tap into your authentic voice as a writer. It’s a supportive community that allows you to come as you are — there’s no critique or advice on your writing. We celebrate the creative process and the ways writing fosters connection and self-discovery.
