Fear

Help! I can’t find my voice!

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If you have been coming to this site (thank you!) you might have noticed that right now I have been posting links to other peoples stuff. It’s really good stuff, stuff that I find quite helpful, but it is other peoples stuff on other people’s sites. Since my day job is helping other people with their sites and I am pretty darn good at it, I know that original content is key to a sites success. So why the disconnect?

Mostly fear.

I’m just a dandelion!

I am afraid of you. Yep. Little ol’ you.

So afraid, that I hesitate on what to do. Who am I to you? What if you don’t like what I have to say or how to say it? And how do I find my goddamn voice?

I think I just found out that my voice cusses a little bit. Sorry. But it is me.

But I change and so doesn’t my voice. Constantly. Depending on the situation, on my mood, how hungry I am, and just because. I do an awesome evil Elmo voice.

Where does that leave me in terms of finding my voice to speak to you? I don’t know.

But I do know that to do nothing, to continue to be afraid to speak is like losing a little piece of myself.  I know that I am very honest if you are speaking kindly of me, or god awful blunt which is probably closer to the truth. I don’t filter myself very well.

Plus I hate the feeling of being scared and weak more than I hate what scares me.  One summer very long ago, my friends and I were at a pool with a very high dive. My friends were trying to decide if they dared jump off and were trying to rationalize their fear.  The diving board was quite high, used for Olympic training.  They turned around to try and get me to go first, but I was already gone and halfway up the ladder. The trick is not to think about it, just do it. One determined baby step at a time until you run out of diving board.

Perhaps that is the answer. I am going to take a deep breath and hold it in and take a baby step, then another until I run out of diving board. Hopefully, you will stay with me. I am still afraid of you but I am more mad at the fear I have in me.

Have a good day and thank you for reading.

Paula

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Quick Link: Paralyzing Fear and Creative Professions

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

There seems to be some connection between being creative and fearful. We are capable of imagining great things but the flip side is being able to imagine horrible things too. Whether you suffer from paralyzing fear or know someone who does, this is a great article by  over at All Indies Writers.

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Paralyzing Fear and Creative Professions

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Creative work is unlike any other job you could take on. When you create, you leave a piece of yourself behind for the world to see. There’s a certain amount of vulnerability involved.

That vulnerability can make it difficult to separate you, the artist, from your art. And that can lead to paralyzing fear of sharing your work.

If you’ve ever dreaded sharing a creative project for fear of being judged, you’re not alone.

Many creative professionals go through this, including me.

And, this year, I’ve decided it’s time to tackle this fear and lack of confidence head-on. Are you ready too?

Creative Comfort Zones

The funny thing about creative projects is they aren’t all created equal. (Or at least they aren’t for me.)

Take freelance writing for example, or blogging even.

Those are “easy” creative projects for me in that I don’t have the same kind of vulnerability or attachment I have with other types of art. The same thing is true with photography.

These are things I’m pretty open about sharing.

But that’s far from the extent of my creative interests.

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.