don't be afraid

don't be afraid of the dark - sometimes you just have to leap into it, take a chance and see what happens.

creativity is something that feeds off of itself.
it is a little like sport.
what do i mean by that? listen to sportsmen and managers and they will tell you that winning becomes a habit.
the same is true of creativity - the more you do it the more natural it becomes.

often you will learn more from your failures than you will from the successes (again a little like sport).

so don't be afraid to take chances with what you are doing.
don't stick to the same old same old.
if you have been writing period romances featuring ponies and miners maybe it is time to try to do the gritty noir butler as private eye story.
it doesn't matter if it turns out to be rubbish.
you will learn something from doing it.

moving out of the comfort zone is important.
in sports training is a combination of doing the same thing over and over and over until it becomes second nature as well as learning new things to surprise your opponents with.

that is the way it should be with your creative endeavours.
there are some techniques you are going to master and there are others are going to attempt to learn.
it is the attempting that is important.
it will show your weaknesses - allowing you to improve them. a good thing.
it will push you to think in a different way. stretching you. a good thing.
it may even lead to a whole new set of ideas for you to work with. a good thing.

what is the worst that can happen if you take a chancce and do something that you are not familiar or comfortable with? you will have spent sometime working on something that didn't pan out.
for all the disappointment of that trust me you will reap rewards in the long run as you will have learnt lots.

the very worst that can happen is someone sees you failed creative attempts and sniggers a little.

so what. never forget that you are creating for you and if they can't offer constructive criticism then they can sod off.

so take a chance.
don't be afraid (unless of course you are writing a horror story or making a ghost film - in which case be very afraid).