Fear Factor 4

DAY 29

Word Count: 18,988

Sentence of the Day: He threw out the words like a sharp right cross, letting them linger for stunning effect.

FEAR #4: WHAT IF I CAN'T THINK OF 500 WORDS TO WRITE TODAY? WHAT IF THOSE WORDS ARE A STEAMING PILE OF LITERARY MANURE?

If an empty computer screen with a blinking cursor simultaneously chills your blood and beads sweat on your forehead, you're in good company.

Ernest Hemingway, who stared down a rifle while hunting big-game in Africa, dodged bullets as a war correspondent, and taunted bulls in Spain, said the scariest thing he ever encountered was, "A blank sheet of paper."

So yeah, this is a very real, very common writerly fear. That being said, what to do about it? I mean besides slapping a paper bag over your head and inhaling deeply. Here are a few tricks that I use:

- Get outside. Go for a walk, a run, a rollerblade extravaganza. Sometimes changing your scenery and getting your blood flowing not only strengthens your muscles but your creativity as well.

- Move. No, don't pack up your household and your pet gerbil, just your laptop. Go to a different place to write. A change of scenery can physically change your point of view and spur on new thoughts.

- Pull down a favorite piece of fiction from your bookshelf, something you've already read, and glance over some inspiring bits of prose. Take 1 sentence, just one, and re-word it to make it your own. That may be all it takes to get you going again.

- Murder your inner editor. Go ahead. Here and now and in cold blood.

Which brings me to the second half of this fear...

So what if you write crappy? You don't have to show it to anyone. There's this thing called a delete key. The freeing act of typing without limits just might get you over the hump you're stuck behind, and you'll go sailing down the writing freeway, kicking out some amazing prose.

Warning: Just make sure you go back and erase all that free-writing from your manuscript. You don't want to venture into the publishing world with literary toilet paper trailing on your shoe.

And if you really need a kick in the butt to get over this fear, give me a holler. I'd be glad to oblige.