Friday, September 23, 2005

The paranoid neuroses go on....and on...and

I am in the middle of writing my essay for the Seal Press anthology. Muslim Women Redefine War.

I've written 7 of the 10 pages and am getting really nervous. What if it totally misses the mark? What if it sucks? Or is incoherent? Too ambitious or not ambitious enough?

This topic can essentially be of my entire life and experiences. What to put in? What to take out? Is there a good enough narrative thread pulling everything together? I am sure to get some flak for not being Muslim enough, lapsed Muslim that I am. That's fine. And good in a way, but I don't want it to suck.

I want this to be really good. Some of the other writers in this anthology are really top notch and well known and I don't want to be uncovered for the fraud I am.

Okay, now this self-indulgent breast beating is irritating even me. Back to writing.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

While I'm sorry that you're struggling, I'm glad that I'm not the only one who feels the fear of being discovered a fraud.

Good luck to you and remember that it's rarely as bad as you might think it is.

Leila M. said...

HEY GREAT! I'm sure it'll be fine, it looks like I'll have a few poems in that anthology as well. I look forward to reading what you write for it!