How do I motivate myself to write?

I’ve had several book ideas over the past 4-5 years. I’ve written chapters for one, developed my characters and outlined essentially the whole thing.

Then I just… don’t write it.

I think the fear of it being terrible stops me from even trying, which I know is incredibly dumb.

I should just write, see where that takes me. But I just come up with these ideas and outlines and don’t even share my writing anywhere they just sit in my notes for ages. How does one get over that fear and just doooo it?

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TheLush · 26-30, F

The best thing you can do is to qualify yourself, this will give you confidence. Start with YouTube videos about "The Hero's Jourmney", "weak words" and "Show don't tell", - writing is a craft like carpentry or knitting and you can learn it. Let yourself fall down some writing craft rabbit holes and then start with a short story with just two characters. Polish it, rewrite sections, make every sentence sparkle. Now introduce a third character (non human). So a dog or the landscape or the weather, make this a significant factor in your narrative. Now you need to start sharing and getting feedback. I'll happily review / edit a few shorts for you.