The Single Woman’s Dash of Sass: If It Matters, It’s At Least a LITTLE Scary

Quote of the Day:

“It was so risky and so scary, and yet at the same time, so beautiful. Maybe the truth was, it shouldn’t be easy to be amazing. Then everything would be. It’s the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth.” ~Sarah Dessen

“What wonderful thing didn’t start out scary?” ~Isaac Marion

The Single Woman Says:

Writing a book is scary.

Writing a book feels a bit like that dream where you walk into an overcrowded classroom, take off your coat, and find that you’re naked underneath. People turn to point and laugh in slow motion and you try desperately to put your coat back on before they see anything, but suddenly your coat disappears and you are literally standing there as naked as a jay bird in front of hundreds of people.

That’s what writing a book feels like. I am currently writing two.

When you write a book, especially one that’s based around your life and your experiences, it feels like you are laying your every thought and feeling and wish and emotion out there for the world to turn and point and laugh. It feels like you are inviting the world to read your diary. It feels like you are putting your flaws on display and asking people to pay to view your secrets, rather like a bearded lady or a two-headed man at the carnival. Okay, that’s a TAD overdramatic, but you see where I’m going with that. There are days when I feel like I am literally wrestling with my computer or giving birth. That is NOT me being overdramatic…that is the God’s honest truth. Writing a book is like leaping off the highest cliff you can find with no net to break your fall.

You know what else is a little bit scary around the edges? Falling in love. Quitting a dead end job. Getting married. Moving across the country. Launching your own company. Having a baby. Buying a house. Chasing a dream. Taking a chance.

My point is this: Everything that matters, everything that moves your life forward, everything that has the power to change your life, is at least a little scary. There will be moments when you want to turn back. There will be moments when you want to get in your bed and pull the cover over your head and hide from the world. There will be moments when you’ll question your very sanity. That is how you know you’re doing something worthwhile.

Because writing a book is terrifying…but the flip side of terrifying is awe-inspiring. Gravity-defying. Life-clarifying. God-glorifying. It makes me shake in my boots in terror AND tremble with excitement, in equal measure. It makes me cry tears of sadness as I relive parts of my story and tears of joy as I realize how my story might have the power to impact someone else’s. It is a chance worth taking. And so is yours. Whatever your “thing” is – it’s a chance worth taking. Even if it feels like you’re standing naked in front of a classroom, take the coat off anyway. Even when you don’t see a net, jump anyway. It’s no coincidence that both beauty and fear take our breath away. They are intrinsically linked.

On the other side of the scariest chance you’ll ever take is the biggest masterpiece you’ll ever make.