July 18, 2007
Irrational Fears
Written by Shana in Writers and Writing
Fears can be kind of funny, huh? What’s terrifying to one person is completely benign to another. For example, I have a friend who is irrationally afraid of frogs. She’s so afraid she won’t walk in certain areas of her neighborhood for fear a frog might be lurking. I like frogs, but I’m not exactly comfortable with them. If I see one, I step out of its way.
Of course, I have my own fears. I am afraid of cockroaches. I’m irrationally afraid of live roaches. I will scream and run away from a live roach. I don’t like dead ones much either. I make Ultimate Sportsfan dispose of their dead corpses. I would have written that I wasn’t irrationally afraid of roaches, but I was going to put a picture of one at the top of this blog and then I was just too distressed by the idea of searching for roach pictures to do it. So maybe I’m a little irrational.
So how does this fit into my job as an author? Well, one thing that makes characters more believable is if they have hopes and fears the rest of us can relate to. I can certainly relate to a character who’s afraid of roaches. And one who isn’t afraid—well, I would automatically think she was pretty kick-butt tough (and maybe a little inasane).
So what about you? Do you have any irrational fears?
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brownone Says:
Oh Shana…ditto on the cockroaches. For me it’s Palmetto bugs to..which are GIANT cockroaches with WINGS…ugh. The other day I got into my shower and felt like something was looking at me. Well I look up the wall and there is a huge Palmetto bug just lurking at me. I screamed and ran out of the shower with my head sopping wet. My husband cracked up! Oh…and I can’t stand clowns. Ever since I saw “It” they’ve given me the heebie geebies. Probably even before then…my sister had a clow piggy bank that would stare at me from her dresser. It mysteriously “broke” one day when I was getting something for her off of the desk…
Laura Says:
Snakes. I don’t do snakes. Period.
Clarisse Says:
Cockroaches with wings? What? God looked at cockroaches and thought, “Gee, those would be so much nicer if they could fly.”? Yuck.
Not very original, but it is mice for me. They run, I scream and jump up on chairs. It is just the way of the world. Now my grown 6 foot+ son (who was the official mouse chaser in our house if my husband wasn’t home)had an absolute terror of praying mantises (which really are a little creepy, I suppose). Oh, and I forgot bats. Absolutely terrified of bats. If one got into the house I would sell the place and move before I would personally try to chase, catch or dispose of it.
Margo Maguire Says:
Spiders. I’m probably not *irrationally* or outrageously afraid of them, but I really don’t like ‘em. And if there’s nobody around to dispose of one, I can manage it myself.
RobynDeHart Says:
I’m with you, Brownone, the Palemtta bugs just freak me out. I can’t even kill them, they totally give me the heeby-geebies. But the most irrational fear I have is probably of tornadoes and because of this, I tend to get very nervous in thunderstorms, especially ones at night.
brownone Says:
Okay Robyn…you’d FREAK if you lived where I do. We get thunderstorms every afternoon at lunch time and every evening just in time for bed…one of the perks of living in Florida. Oh..I just LOVE when we get “Tornado Watches/Warnings”…notice my dripping sarcasm?
Rainy Says:
I don’t like spiders and snakes…wasn’t that a song?? Well, I don’t like them in my space anyway. But does anyone have ambivolent feelings when they watch Charlotte’s Web and see little, gentle Charlotte perform her artistry.
I didn’t like bees, but now that they are disappearing I feel differently.
When I lived near Boston, I would hear the planes come in and they’d sound verrrrrrry close so I have this irrational fear of one landing on my house (I actually knew a girl who that DID happen to and shoe lost some of her family so that didn’t help)
Jenna Petersen Says:
I got the mouse fear (thanks Mom LOL). I actually don’t like much that is creepy, crawly or could bite me. So I try to stay under the bed rocking gently as often as possible. What? Is there something wrong with that???
Stacy S Says:
I hate snakes. We saw a snake skin close to our old house & I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking what if it got in the house. Hate them.
Shana Says:
Brownone, just that story about the Palmetto bug in the shower with you gives me the creeps. We don’t see as many of those in Houston as just plain roaches.
AndreaW Says:
That’s one thing I don’t miss about Florida….the palmetto bugs! Ugh! Hate ‘em.
I also don’t like spiders. The little ghost ones don’t freak me out, but big hairy ones do. Eeek!
catslady Says:
SPIDERS, SPIDERS, SPIDERS!!!
I lived in Mississippi for 7 months and remember those Palmetoo bugs well - yuk and double yuk.
And a fear of getting lost while driving and merging into traffic. It’s stopped me from doing a lot of things.
Pat L. Says:
Snakes and heights.
Michele Says:
I also hate roaches and scream when one gets in the house. I cant sleep till I find and kill it. From Michele,near the Johnson Space Center in Texas
Julia Says:
Balloons.