You can’t allow yourself to be frightened. Not if you want the writing to have heat and reason and passion.
-Harlan Ellison
1934-2018
I think just about everyone knows what he means… no matter what form of expression you like to use.
Harlan became known for his “indignant and ingenious fury” as quoted from The Week, July 2018. He wrote many short stories, articles, books, screenplays, and TV scripts throughout his career. Many regaled him as a sci-fi writer, but he loathed the term… and threatened, “I’ll hit you so hard your ancestors will die,” whenever anyone called him a science fiction writer. Yet, his work inspired others and his un-even temper was essential to his art as he pioneered for the underdog.
He certainly inspired me!
Whenever you do something, do it with everything you’ve got. Stand up for what you need. Fight for what you believe in. Push your limits. Stretch yourself. Keep learning. Write as if no one is going to ever read it (that way you won’t leave out the things you fear someone else will not like, because it might be exactly what someone else needs to inspire them!).
Trust your journey.