What do you think?
Rate this book
Writing Through Fear: A Story Arcana Guide
Has your critic convinced you that you're the only one who feels fear when writing?
Every writer faces fear. Over the past ten years, Caroline Donahue, MA, has observed the patterns of fear in hundreds of students and clients. Through her teaching and coaching, Caroline has developed a catalogue of the archetypes of fear. Learn the four categories, and the ten types of fear within each category. These fears each correspond to a card in the minor arcana of the tarot, allowing a tarot deck to serve as a journaling companion. Transform your relationship to fear so it no longer stops you from writing and instead becomes a valuable source of insight.
This guide walks you through the process of working through your fear so you can finish your book with confidence. Suitable for tarot newbies and experts alike, filled with exercises and prompts, Writing through Fear will transform your obstacles into opportunities that add depth and satisfaction to your writing.
Every writer faces fear. Over the past ten years, Caroline Donahue, MA, has observed the patterns of fear in hundreds of students and clients. Through her teaching and coaching, Caroline has developed a catalogue of the archetypes of fear. Learn the four categories, and the ten types of fear within each category. These fears each correspond to a card in the minor arcana of the tarot, allowing a tarot deck to serve as a journaling companion. Transform your relationship to fear so it no longer stops you from writing and instead becomes a valuable source of insight.
This guide walks you through the process of working through your fear so you can finish your book with confidence. Suitable for tarot newbies and experts alike, filled with exercises and prompts, Writing through Fear will transform your obstacles into opportunities that add depth and satisfaction to your writing.
- GenresWriting
227 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 23, 2024
10 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 20, 2024
Writers know that our fears manifest themselves in so many ways: fear of failure, fear of success, fear that it's all for naught. Caroline Donahue puts those common writer fears in conversation with the tarot to help readers think through their writing fears and better understand them. I received this book as a pre-publication ARC and read it quickly, gobbling up all of Donahue's delicious insights about writing. As a tarot practitioner, I know that I will keep going back to it to weave her insights into my daily card draws. You don't need to know anything about tarot to benefit from reading this book, however. What you'll find is that the stories the tarot tells have lessons for all writers.
May 21, 2024
Writing Through Fear takes the reader on a journey through the pitfalls of fear writers face. Aptly titled, Caroline Donahue guides us through each fear structured with the framework of tarot cards. Although I am not that familiar with tarot, I do know fear and felt held as she navigated through each one as if she were a Sherpa ensuring a safe expedition. “Pay attention to your reactions, go as slow as you need to, but keep coming back to the page. You’ve got this.”
I liked that she included true stories to highlight the point she was making and the questions at the end of each chapter which allow the reader to go deeper. Writing Through Fear is indeed a helpful guidebook to get to the other side of fear. “By writing through your fears, without shutting them down, you stand to find a story that feels closer to the one you dreamed of.”
I was gifted with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
I liked that she included true stories to highlight the point she was making and the questions at the end of each chapter which allow the reader to go deeper. Writing Through Fear is indeed a helpful guidebook to get to the other side of fear. “By writing through your fears, without shutting them down, you stand to find a story that feels closer to the one you dreamed of.”
I was gifted with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
May 29, 2024
“Your book matters. And the fears that hold you back can be worked with so they don't shut you down. I started to see patterns in the fears among groups of students. Despite the critic whispering that you're the only one who has this issue, I assure you that you're not.”
I thought that I'm not going to enjoy reading this book that much. But that's mostly because I find lots of books on writing (how to write, why we should write, literal manuals, and so on) to be boring, useless, or simply full of bullshit. My expectations for Donahue's book, then, were rather neutral. I didn't want to judge it before reading, but only during and/or after finishing it.
And I loved it! I really found myself in lots of these fears and liked reading about other people's experiences, real-life situations, inspirational quotes or the questions that made me think deeper about what, how, or why do I fear these things.
“Nightmares often feel silly once you come out the other side. They aren't. The experience of the fear is real. Be gentle with yourself, and the sun will return for a better morning afterward.”
Donahue explores many fears and sometimes, they felt scattered around because the focus was on tarot cards (which I have no idea about) and not on writing chronologically or systematically. But overall, I think this book is helpful and sparks some good ideas and thoughts and is certainly a good one to read and explore further after finishing it.
I would recommend this book mostly to beginners at writing, but also to those who consider themselves published authors, professionals, academics, and others. Everyone can find their own fear here and perhaps even a solution on how to deal with it.
Thanks goes to Caroline Donahue for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I thought that I'm not going to enjoy reading this book that much. But that's mostly because I find lots of books on writing (how to write, why we should write, literal manuals, and so on) to be boring, useless, or simply full of bullshit. My expectations for Donahue's book, then, were rather neutral. I didn't want to judge it before reading, but only during and/or after finishing it.
And I loved it! I really found myself in lots of these fears and liked reading about other people's experiences, real-life situations, inspirational quotes or the questions that made me think deeper about what, how, or why do I fear these things.
“Nightmares often feel silly once you come out the other side. They aren't. The experience of the fear is real. Be gentle with yourself, and the sun will return for a better morning afterward.”
Donahue explores many fears and sometimes, they felt scattered around because the focus was on tarot cards (which I have no idea about) and not on writing chronologically or systematically. But overall, I think this book is helpful and sparks some good ideas and thoughts and is certainly a good one to read and explore further after finishing it.
I would recommend this book mostly to beginners at writing, but also to those who consider themselves published authors, professionals, academics, and others. Everyone can find their own fear here and perhaps even a solution on how to deal with it.
Thanks goes to Caroline Donahue for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
May 21, 2024
Confession #1: I loved this book.
Confession #2: I was afraid (ha!) that I wouldn’t when I realized it was structured around the tarot, about which I know NOTHING. Perhaps I wasn’t the intended audience? A misplaced fear, as it turned out. One doesn’t need to know or even have an abiding interest in the tarot, as the book is not about that, but is about the various fears writers face at all stages of the writing process, and that is something I AM familiar with. Donahue has arranged forty (yikes!) fears around the four suits of the tarot, each one a lovely little word painting of the angst, with fresh ways to reframe it, interrogate it (are you real?), and move past it. You can read it straight through, and/or dip in and out as you bump up against the fear that nothing you write could ever measure up, or that you’ll run out of ideas, or that someone will steal your ideas, or that maybe you need an MFA or or or…
This book is not a drill sergeant yelling at you to “Suck it up and get back to work!” This is your best writer friend sitting down with you over tea, listening to your struggles, and nodding sympathetically. “I’ve been there, dear. Maybe look at it THIS way…”
I promise: you’ll feel better (and braver and sturdier) after reading this book.
Confession #2: I was afraid (ha!) that I wouldn’t when I realized it was structured around the tarot, about which I know NOTHING. Perhaps I wasn’t the intended audience? A misplaced fear, as it turned out. One doesn’t need to know or even have an abiding interest in the tarot, as the book is not about that, but is about the various fears writers face at all stages of the writing process, and that is something I AM familiar with. Donahue has arranged forty (yikes!) fears around the four suits of the tarot, each one a lovely little word painting of the angst, with fresh ways to reframe it, interrogate it (are you real?), and move past it. You can read it straight through, and/or dip in and out as you bump up against the fear that nothing you write could ever measure up, or that you’ll run out of ideas, or that someone will steal your ideas, or that maybe you need an MFA or or or…
This book is not a drill sergeant yelling at you to “Suck it up and get back to work!” This is your best writer friend sitting down with you over tea, listening to your struggles, and nodding sympathetically. “I’ve been there, dear. Maybe look at it THIS way…”
I promise: you’ll feel better (and braver and sturdier) after reading this book.
May 22, 2024
I absolutely love the tarot and I'm a professional writer, so I was really excited about this book. While I have read previous books by Caroline, and even though I know she is a fantastic book coach, I honestly had my doubts... How can the blocks and fears we sometimes face as writers be intelligently and intuitively connected to the tarot? I went in sceptical... and WOW, was I pleasantly surprised! Not only did this book beautifully weave tarot and writing, but it did so almost effortlessly.
Writing Through Fear is filled with personal stories and anecdotes, and it's so wonderful getting this level of guidance from someone who has been there and knows exactly what it's like.
Even if you're new to the tarot, this book will help you have conversations with your fears and writing blocks in a wildly creative way. Not only will you become a better and more prolific writer (say goodbye to procrastination once and for all), but you'll also gain an incredible point of access to your spiritual self. I absolutely loved reading this book, and while I received an advanced reader copy in digital format, I'm going to be buying a physical copy too. This needs to be on my favourite shelf in my writing loft.
Writing Through Fear is filled with personal stories and anecdotes, and it's so wonderful getting this level of guidance from someone who has been there and knows exactly what it's like.
Even if you're new to the tarot, this book will help you have conversations with your fears and writing blocks in a wildly creative way. Not only will you become a better and more prolific writer (say goodbye to procrastination once and for all), but you'll also gain an incredible point of access to your spiritual self. I absolutely loved reading this book, and while I received an advanced reader copy in digital format, I'm going to be buying a physical copy too. This needs to be on my favourite shelf in my writing loft.
May 21, 2024
I received an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. “Writing through Fear” by Caroline Donahue is the quick pick-me-upper you need when something is blocking your writing. The book examines the various fears writers come across, using the four tarot suits as a framework:
- Cups: Emotions
- Swords: Thinking and Intellect
- Wands: Drive and motivation
- Pentacles: Tangible reality
However, you don’t need to be familiar with tarot cards to benefit from this book. And while I couldn’t relate (yet) to all the fears explored, the book gave me a deeper understanding of the ones I face regularly. I think “Writing through Fear” can help writers overcome common anxieties at any stage of their journey. This is a calm and reassuring read when you need a critic intervention or a mindset shift for those moments when your writing process isn’t going great.
- Cups: Emotions
- Swords: Thinking and Intellect
- Wands: Drive and motivation
- Pentacles: Tangible reality
However, you don’t need to be familiar with tarot cards to benefit from this book. And while I couldn’t relate (yet) to all the fears explored, the book gave me a deeper understanding of the ones I face regularly. I think “Writing through Fear” can help writers overcome common anxieties at any stage of their journey. This is a calm and reassuring read when you need a critic intervention or a mindset shift for those moments when your writing process isn’t going great.
May 24, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. It was like having a conversation with a compassionate and wise friend. It's filled with good advice that's empowering as well as excellent questions and reframes to reflect on.
Writing about fear to writers is tricky (we'll always argue for our own fear, lol), but she does a great job addressing something that could be inflammatory as well as something that people avoid: fear. I like how she uses the minor arcana as a framework to discuss many of the common fears that writers have. You don't need to know tarot to benefit from this book as Donahue explains what you need to know in a very straightforward and easy to understand manner illuminating the points she makes. If you are familiar with tarot, it's a beautiful extra layer for your own practice.
I received this as an ARC, but I loved it so much that I preordered the second edition of the first book in this series.
Writing about fear to writers is tricky (we'll always argue for our own fear, lol), but she does a great job addressing something that could be inflammatory as well as something that people avoid: fear. I like how she uses the minor arcana as a framework to discuss many of the common fears that writers have. You don't need to know tarot to benefit from this book as Donahue explains what you need to know in a very straightforward and easy to understand manner illuminating the points she makes. If you are familiar with tarot, it's a beautiful extra layer for your own practice.
I received this as an ARC, but I loved it so much that I preordered the second edition of the first book in this series.
December 3, 2024
I've been following Caroline for several years now, so when I saw she had a new book out I didn't think hesitate to buy it. I'm glad I did, because I quickly took to underlining passages and dog-earing pages.
Whether or not you're into them, the Tarot proves to be a wonderful way to help identify and organize the fears we all experience as human beings. My only small criticism is that I wished she'd incorporated more of it into the text; there wasn't always explicit mention of how each card related to the fear, and I was eager to go back to my deck after reading.
Fear can be a heavy subject but Caroline's book is an easy and engaging read. It's filled with insights and practical tools to help you prevent fears of all types from holding you hostage, whether that's during the process of writing or the process of living your life.
Whether or not you're into them, the Tarot proves to be a wonderful way to help identify and organize the fears we all experience as human beings. My only small criticism is that I wished she'd incorporated more of it into the text; there wasn't always explicit mention of how each card related to the fear, and I was eager to go back to my deck after reading.
Fear can be a heavy subject but Caroline's book is an easy and engaging read. It's filled with insights and practical tools to help you prevent fears of all types from holding you hostage, whether that's during the process of writing or the process of living your life.
May 24, 2024
This book is filled with content that spoke to my inner critic, that voice in my head that says "just stop now, this is no good." I write articles and for marketing purposes in my job, dabble in memoir essays, fiction, and poetry. These fears resonated with all of my writing voices. 4 stars for the content.
What didn't resonate was the structure. I want to be able to flip to a fear I'm struggling with and get good advice for how to address it. I use tarot cards, and can see flipping to the relevant section if I've drawn a card when working through a writing challenge. But it's just not how I see using a book like this. 2 stars for the structure.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What didn't resonate was the structure. I want to be able to flip to a fear I'm struggling with and get good advice for how to address it. I use tarot cards, and can see flipping to the relevant section if I've drawn a card when working through a writing challenge. But it's just not how I see using a book like this. 2 stars for the structure.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 27, 2024
I've been a fan of Donahue's writing for the past year or two. As a subscriber to her newsletter, I get excited whenever a new email from her pops up in my inbox. In her classic voice, this book is full of kind encouragement with practical advice and a down to earth tone.
I was lucky to receive an ARC of the book and devoured the first 100 pages in one sitting. The only reason I didn't plow through to the end was because I was too inspired to go work on my own book after reading her words.
If you need a pick me up, inspiration, writing advice, or a friend--this book is for you. Highly recommend!
I was lucky to receive an ARC of the book and devoured the first 100 pages in one sitting. The only reason I didn't plow through to the end was because I was too inspired to go work on my own book after reading her words.
If you need a pick me up, inspiration, writing advice, or a friend--this book is for you. Highly recommend!
May 15, 2024
Gifted with an advanced copy, I have to offer the highest praise. Loved It!! Still loving it. I've put it to work already. I pulled out an old novel manuscript I started several years ago. Just looking at and re-reading my work, I am recognizing the fears (past and present) addressed in Donohue's book. And I'm literally applying her suggestions to overcome each of those fears. Having a profound effect already.
May 22, 2024
Going through this book helped me feel seen and supported through my writing process - a journey that often tends to be very lonely. I'm grateful to know that I'm seen and understood as a writer AND as someone who has an appreciation for tarot. The book can also be a journey into the tarot in and of itself!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews