to fail. if you are afraid of failure, you will be afraid to try. if you’re afraid to try, you will never do anything. and believe me, failure is something you need to get used to in writing. for inspiration, read any of the getting-started stories of established writers.
finally, eat the elephant in small bites. want to write a book? it might be worth your while to start out with short stories. after you have gotten a handle on that, try expanding to a larger format. or if you insist on starting with the book format, break your writing down into scenes. i usually plan 3-5 scenes per chapter, then 