Letting Fear Drive You

Well, I finished Corpse Pose earlier, and started No One Left To Tell. I watched The Kentucky Derby (if you didn't watch it, it was both exciting and tragic) and the latest round of the National Heads-Up Poker Tournament.

During the tournament, poker legend Doyle Brunson made an interesting comment. I don't remember the exact wording but it was something to the effect of not letting fear drive the choices you make. This is my problem in poker. I let fear dictate the choices I make, and lately those choices have put me on the losing end.

I've been thinking about Doyle's statement ever since. Not just in relation to poker. I've been wondering if I let fear drive me in my writing choices, too. I don't really know the answer to that. I know I can't think about fear or it stalls my writing, but does fear enter into the other choices I make? Am I writing what needs to be written without fearing someone will get their undies in a bunch over the subject matter? Do my query letters stink of fear? Am I putting my best foot forward, or is fear making me torpedo myself?

This whole thing bears some serious consideration and deep introspection. I don't think fear invades my writing choices, but my subconscious could be doing an end-around I'm not really aware of. That's where the introspection comes in. (It's a really effective tool, but I'll save touting the wonders of introspection for another day.) So, I've got some thinking to do.

Meanwhile, I have some more writing to do tonight. I'm trying to hit 30K before I finish for the day, and since I'm about 700 short at the moment, I need to get back to work. If the meter over there -------> says 30K plus when you read this, I succeeded. If not, there's always tomorrow.

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