The Fear Trifecta: What Really Blocks Your Words

This is not another “Imposter Syndrome” Post

The cursor blinks.
And blinks.
And blinks.

Every writer knows the moment: fingers hovering over the keyboard, mind racing with ideas, yet somehow frozen in place.

You might think this is where I tell you the blank page is a writer's greatest fear. But I don’t think it’s the empty page that haunts us. It’s the uncertainty of what happens after we fill it.

During my April free webinar, I briefly touched on this concept, but mainly in terms of endlessly editing your story to avoid querying. Now I want to discuss it in terms of the act of writing itself.

Ironically, as I finished writing this article, I found myself hesitating to publish it. What if writers didn't connect with it? What if I was missing something crucial? The very fears I was describing were playing out in real time—that's exactly why we need to talk about this.

Throughout the years of working with writers, I've discovered three specific fears consistently sabotage even the most seasoned writers. I call it “The Fear Trifecta”—and recognizing it might be the key to finally breaking through.

1. “What If It’s Terrible?”

This isn’t just imposter syndrome. It’s a gnawing anxiety that we might be frauds, deluded about our abilities—that our work is embarrassing and we’ve been lying to ourselves all along.

The voice doesn’t wait for rejection to show up. It whispers before we even finish the first sentence: “Remember when you thought your high school poetry was brilliant? Yeah. That.”

I realize now that my English teacher was an absolute saint, taking time to give me feedback on horrible poems that I thought were so deep, along with other creative writing endeavors.

This fear makes us question our instincts. Every word feels suspect, every sentence unworthy.

2. “What If They Don’t Like It?”

Rejection isn’t just a professional “no”—it’s a personal gut-punch. It’s someone looking at the thing you poured your soul into and deciding it’s not worth engaging with.

These days, silence is often louder than rejection. The unanswered query. The quiet scroll past your post. The voice says:“ You’re not even worth a no.”

3. “Who Am I to Write This?”

This fear is sneaky. It masquerades as humility.

“This has already been said.”
“Someone smarter or more qualified should write this.”

It convinces us we don’t belong in the conversation. It feeds on comparisons.

“Look how beautifully they wrote about this. What could you possibly add?”

So we hesitate. We edit before we’ve even drafted. Or we scrap it entirely.

The Plot Twist

All three of these fears—terrible work, rejection, unworthiness—are really just different faces of the same core fear:

Being seen.

Writing isn’t just putting words on a page. It’s exposing your perspective, your taste, your inner voice—sometimes even your soul. It’s saying: “This is from my heart—does it resonate with you?”

And the terrifying possibility that maybe it won’t. Maybe no one will care. Maybe they’ll misunderstand—or worse, ignore you entirely.

Writing requires a kind of vulnerability that can feel unbearable. We take the personal parts of ourselves, shape them into stories or essays, and offer them to the world, not knowing how—or if—they’ll be received.

It’s not lost on me that I’m often the one handing out that “no”. But I can also be the one to tell you—in all seriousness—often times it’s not you, it’s me.

Despite your brilliant writing, there may be other factors preventing me from taking on your book.

Either way, it’s far from a personal judgement.

The Antidote (Kind Of)

There’s no magic fix. Fear never fully goes away. But you can learn to move forward anyway.

1. Fear Means You’re on the Right Track

If it weren’t meaningful, it wouldn’t feel risky.
Fear shows you’re investing yourself in the work. That matters.

Seth Godin encourages embracing fear as a sign that you are stepping outside your comfort zone and growing. Seth is hardly ever wrong.

2. Turn Doubt Into Defiance

When the voice asks, “Who are you to write this?”
Answer: “Someone who cares enough to try”

In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott said, “Be afraid of wasting any more time obsessing about how you look and how people see you. Be afraid of not getting your writing done.”

The act of writing is proof that your voice deserves to be heard.

3. Aim for Connection, Not Perfection

Readers don’t want flawless. They want honest.

Authenticity connects. That’s the real goal.

The Real Truth About Fear

Writers don’t stop because they’re lazy. They stop because they’re afraid—of being seen, of being wrong, of being dismissed.

The fear will always be there—blinking alongside the cursor, lurking at the edges of every draft. But it doesn’t have to win. The only way to beat it is to write anyway.

Let the fear hang out if it wants to. Invite it to watch you write. Then keep going.

Because the scariest thing isn’t writing a bad sentence. It’s leaving the right ones unwritten.

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✍️ If this hit home…

• 📥 Download my free Launch Kit – A step-by-step guide with checklists, cheat sheets and more to help with story structure and query readiness.

• 🎥 Watch my free video: “Is Your Manuscript Query Ready?” (aka April Free Webinar)

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