We writers often talk about the reasons we write. But what are the reasons we don’t write? What keeps us from writing?

Several things probably come to mind: procrastination, not enough time, and not feeling creative, among others. But at the end of the day, there is one main thing that keeps us from writing.

The novelist Erica Jong hit the nail on the head when she said, “I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged.”

We’re all writers here, and we all understand each other, so let’s take a moment for some honesty. Is there someone in your life you’re afraid of disappointing with your writing?

Maybe it’s a parent or a sibling. Maybe it’s a teacher. Maybe it’s a friend of yours who has a popular blog or has had some books published.

Imagine that you put your writing out there and they don’t like it. Maybe they express some disappointment or even leave a bad review on Amazon. Then, they move on with their life and promptly forget about it.

But that’s about the extent of it. At its worst, being judged by someone just means our writing is not for them.

Yet in our minds, we are terrified of not being liked, or of disappointing someone. We let this fear of being judged by one person keep us from writing what 99 other people will love.

So finish your writing. Do the work. Chances are pretty high that the 99 will love it. And the one person who might not like it? That means it just wasn’t for them.

We like to think of this person as the one we should convince, the one we should try and bring into the fold of our readership. But you must let them go. Don’t worry about the one that got away. Instead, focus your energy on the 99 who enjoy your work and want to support you.

Nobody said this was easy… but learning to let go is an essential part of being a writer.