Turns Out I'm Scared Too
A couple of semesters ago I taught Advanced Creative Writing (ACW), and a number of my students had what I can only describe as meltdowns during the semester. The process of writing their first novel evoked trauma in otherwise strong individuals.
After observing this phenomenon, a couple of their fellow students read The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear. And if I ever again teach ACW, I’ll add that book to the “required” list. I had read portions of it in the past, but this weekend while flying to Indianapolis and back (board meetings), I read it cover-to-cover.
Written by Ralph Keyes (Nice Guys Finish Last), the book explores the fear every writer experiences but which few writing teachers address: the sheer terror involved in allowing the world to scrutinize our thoughts. I identified with much of what Keyes said. In my novels when I've written about an enraged character, I've worried readers will think I must be short-tempered myself. (Otherwise how could I understand such anger well enough to write a scene like that?) When I've written about a character having an affair, I've worried my readers would think I was tapping into my own memory bank. When I've written about a couple enduring marital difficulty, I've hoped readers wouldn’t assume my husband was a jerk or wonder if I was as petty or whiny or selfish as "Angie."
When we write, we unearth our inner “ugly,” open ourselves to ridicule, and sometimes even hurt friends and family. Yet our fears of all that happening, when properly harnessed, can help writers write better, more authentic prose.
Keyes masterfully explores both what it takes to write well and how to do so consistently. The book would be worth the price for the quotes alone, as he peppers his prose with examples from the painfully shy E. B. White (Elements of Style; Charlotte’s Web) and numerous others like Hemingway, Stein, Thoreau, and T. S. Eliot. But the book's greatest strength is in helping writers perceive something we've heard a lot in the news this week: We have nothing to fear but fear itself.
If the writer's honesty feels embarrassing, the reader's forgiveness is profound. --Ralph Keyes