What would you write if you weren't afraid?

Yesterday I was reading a guest post on Copyblogger by Johnny B. Truant that really got me thinking.  Here's what caught my eye:

"If you’re stuck in your writing, I’d bet almost anything that it’s because deep inside, you’re hung up on what’s dying to be said versus what “should” be said in the eyes of your family, your friends, the world, or even yourself.

You hesitate on topics, on phrasing, on fears that your grammar is bad. Take your pick of an excuse, but what’s stopping you is you."

How many times have you wanted to write something but you stopped because of what others might think? Of course, there are times when we need to think about what we write before we do, but I think Johnny is right.  We self-edit way too much.  We push our creativity away because we are afraid of the response we'll get.

I find it interesting how fearful so many people are about their writing. The fear of writing is known as graphophobia, but I don't think most people have graphophobia.  What they have is fear of revealing themselves.  Fear of being judged by others.

There are great posts all over the Internet about how to overcome your fear of writing, but I think you should start by asking yourself, "What would you write if you weren't afraid?"  Johnny B. Truant gave himself a pen name to free himself from the fear of judgment, and that's when his writing took off.

I have a good friend who publishes a blog called Cranky Blog. I highly recommend that you subscribe to it. What I love most about Cranky Blog is its fearlessness. Quite often I'll read something there and have the simultaneous thoughts, "I can't believe he wrote that!" and "I agree with that 100%." And then there are the things I don't agree with at all, but they are written with such a clear honesty and fearlessness that I can't help but read more.

If you have ever just let your creativity fly free without thought about how it might reflect on you, you know how freeing it feels.  I'm not talking about irresponsibility or libel, but speaking your truth with courage.

So, ask yourself what you would write if you were not afraid.  Then write it!

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