My name is Sara and I’m a writer I’ve been writing fiction for over twenty years and have been doing it as my primary job for the last dozen years or so Along the way I’ve learned some things about the business of publishing and the craft of writing I’ve taken planes trains and automobiles to interesting places to talk about my books and to teach other writers I’ve met some of my heroes and made new friends I’ve spoken with readers as well as booksellers teachers librarians and parents who love to help young people find their next favorite book All of this has been gratifying and unexpected taking me places I never thought I’d go But some of the most interesting stuff I’ve learned has been about myself I knew that I’m resourceful and creative that I love stories that I have a vivid imagination and that I love writing But what I didn’t know before about myself but know now is this No matter how much I love writing it is always extremely difficult to get myself to sit down and do it I’m terrified of being criticized but I always manage to live through it I really enjoy being around other writers and artists and all types of creative people and I love having them as friends But I also experience a lot of envy of other writers and artists even and maybe especially my friends 7
I still have a hard time taking creative risks even though I know it’s an important part of the process I get into creative ruts and get burned out on writing I never feel capable of writing the book I’m writing For some reason I do it anyway Even after reaching some success I still fear rejection I often feel like I have no idea what I’m doing I think more than I want to about other people’s opinion of me Despite all these things I can overcome my fears self-doubt envy burnout and procrastination to work on being the writer I want to be Another thing I’ve learned after meeting dozens and dozens of other artists is that these thoughts and feelings are very common It doesn’t matter if a person has won awards made Hollywood movies with multimillion dollar budgets had a best seller or received thousands of five star reviews on Amazon There’s something about creative work that can make you feel exposed and vulnerable No matter how much experience or talent you might have you can still feel uncertain You can still lie awake and wonder Am I okay You can still feel embarrassment or even shame that you even tried to make something 8 Part 1 You Are Here
I don’t know exactly why this is but it is And if you feel any of the things in my list you are far from alone and experiencing these fears does not mean you aren’t or can’t be creative That’s what this book is about the practical and emotional speed bumps and challenges I’ve experienced and have learned to work with and through and my hope is that I can share that experience with you I hope I can be a friend or sort of a big sister in these pages to encourage you in whatever you’re doing and to offer advice and company along the way Though a lot of what I’ve written in this book is meant to apply to all sorts of creative endeavors writing fiction is the thing I know the most about Therefore when I use examples from my own life and experience with the creative process they will be about writing But you can usually apply them to any kind of creative project you’re doing because this book is less about what kind of art and how much of it we produce and more about what’s inside of us that can hinder our courage and steal away the joy of creating which is not only an ability we all have but an essential part of being human HOW TO USE THIS BOOK This book is written both in a kind of order and in a loose shape Therefore if you read it in order especially the first time through it will probably make more sense That said you don’t have to read it in order No one is watching grading or judging you so skip around if you want Introduction 9
