Mirror, mirror

You know that piece of conventional wisdom? The one that says that there are only so many stories and that they have all already been told? Sometimes I feel like I'm incapable of an original thought much less an original sentence or storyline or idea.

And in my secret heart of hearts, I harbor the fear that one day, if I am able to finish the novel, it will only be to find that someone brighter, younger, more talented, and a better writer will have written my book, gotten an agent, and gotten published before me. But then maybe that’s just me.

Behler Blog has an interesting post on just this phenomenon here. Check it out and then you tell me. Have you ever faced this fear? If not, what is the biggest fear you’ve faced in your writing or publishing journey?

Fear and focus

I'm a disciplined, dedicated person. I know what I have to do, and I know what I have to do to get it done.

I subscribe more to the 'sit down and figure it out then write' theory than I do to a muse. I subscribe to the theory that writer's block is really just fear. Fear of failure. Fear of success. I have them both in spades and sometimes they just paralyze me.

And as I'm trying to be more disciplined in my writing, do more writing on a more regular basis, I've ping-ponged between my fears.

I think I can write. Short stories and novels. I have two novels that are WIPs and one completed novel that could be rewritten, if I felt up to the heavy lifting, into something I think would be marketable. I have tons of bits and pieces that could be fitted into a coherent something.

Whatever comes though, I need to focus.

How about you? Discipline or muse? Biggest fear in writing? How do you focus?