One of the most fundamental of human fears is that our existence will go unnoticed. - Ralph Keyes

Writing is merely public speaking on paper, but to a much larger audience.

Fear flushes clogged pores of perception.

"When members of the London Poetry Society asked Browning to interpret a particularly difficult passage of Sordello, he read it twice, frowned, then admitted, "When I wrote that, God and I knew what I meant, but now God alone knows."

Rather than risk sounding dense, readers, colleagues, and critics who can't figure out what a writer is trying to say but think it sounds intelligent will typically resort to calling such work "daring," "provocative," or "complex." An unholy alliance of writers and readers is at work here."