Fear is an insidious thing. It can change our behavior without our even knowing it. Today I have a question for all of you: what are you afraid of?

Here, I’ll go first.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to back up all of my bullshit. I’m afraid I’m not nearly as good as I think I am. I’m afraid that I’ve spent all this time writing a dud, and the closer I get to the day when I’ll find out – the day when readers will get at my writing and tell me what I did wrong – the greater my fear becomes.

You don’t have to comment or tweet or blog or in any way tell me what you’re afraid of. Just think about it. Think about it, say it aloud, write it down, sing about it in the shower, whatever. No one else needs to know what you’re afraid of. You need to know though. Otherwise it will control you.

You cannot face your fears if you don’t know what they are, so the first step is to think and then say them out loud. I guarantee you’ll feel better for having done so. I know I do.