First posted in The Writing of a Wisoker on the Loose, 2/25/2011
The wind is blowing hard today, and I’m nervous over warnings that it’s possible tornado weather–a section of our fence blew down last weekend, and it’s only temporarily fixed. Another friend had a tree limb smash her car windshield. So I’m a little jumpy at the moment…. and I’m blogging about it, not to alleviate the fear, but because it’s something to remember when writing fiction. What scares you doesn’t have to be complicated drooling monsters. Windy days like this, for me, are both exhilarating and worrying; I find myself utterly complacent when I’m in someone else’s house in bad weather, as opposed to constant fear when I’m in my own home during a storm. This is an interesting contradiction, and tells me that I’m probably more afraid of losing my “stuff” than of being injured…..
What simple, everyday things scare you? Write about it. Put them into your stories. Even strong people get scared over silly things. Use it.