This is an ongoing series of “questions every author
avoids answering” (based on this
video by Dale L. Roberts) and my answers to them. I recommend
every author ask themselves these same questions to better understand
themselves and their art.
Question:
What scares you most as an author?
The quick answer:
That I won’t be able to get all the stories out of my head
and onto paper before I die.
The long answer:
Yeah, I know, it sounds a little corny, but it’s true. You
see, I’m not afraid of anything. I have no fear of dying (I’ve nearly died several
times, in fact, including twice by nearly drowning). No fear of spiders or
creepy crawlies (I’m a trained entomologist, actually!). Heights give me the
willies, but I’ve conquered it. Darkness? Bring it on. Claustrophobia? Nah, I’ve
gone spelunking and did fine. Ghosts? I literally grew up in an actual haunted
house. I can deal with it.
No, it’s all about my stories. I have endless stories locked
in my head, waiting to get onto paper. My fantasy world, Irikara, in
particular, has more tales to tell than I could ever write. It’s a vast world,
and sometimes it’s more real to me than the real world. I can point to any
place on the giant map and tell you what the languages sound like, the smells
of the streets, the migrations of the people, the gods, the heroes, the
villains, the government structure, and the present and distant past of the
land, and so much more.
But if I die, it all dies with me! Imagine being the
gatekeeper to an entire world – the sole person who can share it with everyone
else – as if you were an alien from a distant planet and only you could share
your homeworld with the entire population of Earth. Seriously. That’s what if feels
like.
I wonder if other writers share this odd fear.
