First - yes. It does. You’re brave. There, you’ve been told.
But why?
We might create a world so different from our own that associating ourselves with that word seems bizarre. However, think about where your ideas come from…that’s right - from you.
Yes, you see the world in a light that non-creatives are unable to see, but you’re also driven by your memories, your experiences and your thoughts. It’s those that are merged and twisted and meshed together that create the characters and their trials.
Take Rey, for example, from my novels. She’s a teen; something that I used to be and so I have an understanding of the decisions she makes. I often don’t agree with her, but I can understand her and how she responds to traumatic events. Even these are taken from the various things I’ve seen or places I’ve gone, then warped into a fantasy land that has it’s own unique twists.
But, I hear you ask, why are we brave? Well, because for every event, character or line of prose, we entwine a part of ourselves - and it’s scary. We make ourselves vulnerable, but the payoff can be immeasurable: it makes us tougher, stronger…braver.
So, go on…be kind to yourself and know that there are authors out their who haven’t found their courage to write that story yet because the risk was too much for them.