The Fear of Letting Go—And Why You Should Do It Anyway

“Any fool can be happy. It takes a man with real heart to make beauty out of the stuff that makes us weep.” — Clive Barker
Have you ever hesitated before putting your ideas into words, afraid of what they might reveal about you? That fear—that inner critic whispering, What if people judge you?—is one of the biggest barriers to creative expression. But here’s the thing: the best stories, the ones that burrow into your mind and refuse to leave, are the ones where the writer let go.
When I wrote Dark Matter, I had to make a choice—filter my thoughts, dull the edges, and make it a safer, more palatable experience… or lean into the dark, the messy, the uncomfortable truths. I chose the latter. Writing without restraint is terrifying, but it’s also where authenticity lives.
Beris, the shadowy trickster from Dark Matter, understands this well. He exists in the space between worlds, slipping in and out of reality, refusing to be pinned down by rules. His very existence is a rejection of certainty. Like Beris, our creativity thrives when we stop trying to control it. The stories that scare us, the ideas that make us pause before writing them down—those are the ones worth pursuing.
As Clive Barker once said, ‘Any fool can be happy. It takes a man with real heart to make beauty out of the stuff that makes us weep.’
So, the next time you hesitate, the next time you think, Maybe I should tone this down, ask yourself: What am I afraid of? And then write it anyway.
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