Fear. It's an interesting emotion. It can be anything from fun when intentionally experienced for entertainment (in books, movies, and haunted houses, for example) to paralyzing at its height. One of my favorite writers said that fear is an acronym for "F$%@ Everything And Run" and sometimes it is just that, other times it is impetus to overcome the emotion itself in order to perform beyond your normal abilities.
I enjoy a good scare--I confess (confession alert!) that I am an adrenaline junkie--though certain factors have served to tame my wild ways I still love a great scary movie, the suspense of a masterfully written thriller, and the odd roller coaster ride now and again. I think certain people are just hardwired to try to scare themselves silly and challenge themselves to overcome their fears, real or imagined. Which also brings up courage--I think instead of being the absence of fear, real courage is getting up and moving on in spite of fear. This, I guess, is my real point: regardless of how you define it, whether or not you seek it out or deny its existence, fear can be friend or foe. It's your choice.
I choose to make it a friend, a tool. A tool I use to craft stories, a tool I use to motivate myself to push my limits, and a tool I use to broaden rather than narrow my horizons. What do you do?
2 comments:
"I still love a great scary movie, the suspense of a masterfully written thriller, and the odd roller coaster ride now and again."
Agreed. Fear can be a great tool for writing. I've found much inspiration from - no other than Alfred Hitchock. Pure genius when it comes to suspense and fear.
I agree, fear can be a great motivator. For me, it's a motivator to run like hell. LOL. No, seriously though, when it comes to writing, it's a way to get me out of my comfort zone and push me towards excellence (or at least some approximation of it).
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