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The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
----Franklin D.Roosevelt
By Simon Stafford
I am afraid to write this prologue, dear Crazy English Readers. Araid because I worry that it won't be good enough; afraid because it won't say everything I want it to say; afraid because my editor may want to change it; afraid that I will miss the deadline. I could let all of these reason cripple me and, in the paralysis of my terror, succumb to failure--the failure to even attempt writing the prologue.
As you may have surmised from my somewhat terror-struck opening, this month's CR feature takes a closer look at the subject of fear and how it can either halt our progress or inspire our continuing development.
In the piece,"A Sneak Peek into Deadline Land,"Leanne Banks grippingly (and accurately) describes the writers' terror as she struggles with each reincarnation every new book brings. She neatly concludes that fear each new book brings gives her an opportunity to realize her true vision, something she may not have achieved in past books.
In "Moving Past Fear," Donna Cardillo provides some insightful and inspiring methods for dealing with fear. Her overriding message is to acknowledge and face your fear, rather than allowing it to throw you off course. Realise that if you weren't afraid to do something, you probably wouldn't be challenging yourself and adding to your abilities and accomplishments. In this way, she encourages us to see fear differently. It is simply a realization that you are venturing into unknown territory, rather than an all-powerful demon waiting to extinguish life itself. Or, if you want to look at it another way, it is merely a chemical reaction, and, as such, can be completely altered by your very attitude towards it.
Dear readers, instead of seeing fear as a stumbling block, see it as a stepping-stone towards new experience; after all, I was terrified at the beginning of this prologue, remember? Now, as I reach the end, I realize that I will finish it after all. Suddently, I am looking at fear from the other side, and the view isn't nearly as terrifying as I imagined.
译文(by Terry)：
读者们，我很怕写这篇卷首语。我怕是因为我担心写得不够好，我怕是因为我未能尽情抒怀，我怕是因为编辑可能要我作出修改，我怕是因为我可能错过截稿日期……我可能被所有的这些理由所牵绊住，在恐惧的麻痹中，向失败屈服——甚至不敢尝试去写这篇卷首语。
你大概能从这有点虾仁的开场白猜到，这期的主题故事所探讨的是恐惧，以及它是如何让我们听步不前，或启发我们不断进取的。
在《心惊胆跳说死线》中，利恩·班克斯传神地（而且准确地）形容了她挣扎着在每本新书的创作中寻求新生时，一个作家所面临的恐惧。她巧妙地总结说，随每本新书而来的恐惧都给了她一个机会，让她可以实现她真实的想法——这也许在她以往的树种都没有实现过。
在《超越恐惧》中，唐娜·卡迪路就处理恐惧的方法提出了很深刻而且很有启发意义的建议。她最重要的信息是，你要认识和正视你的恐惧，而不要让它将你推离自己的方向。要知道，如果你对做一件事情不感到害怕，你很可能不是在挑战自己，提升你的能力和技能。就这样，她鼓励我们要用不同的眼光来看待恐。你只要意识到，你是在冒险进入一个未知的领域，而不是一个无所不能的恶魔等着要摧毁你的生活。又或者是，如果你想用另一种方法来看待它——这只是一个化学反应，结果会因你的态度而截然不同。
读者们，与其把恐惧看成你的绊脚石，不如把它看作通往新历程的垫脚石。记得吗？在写这篇卷首语之前，我是心怀恐惧的。现在，临近结尾，我意识到，我还是能完成的。突然间，我发现自己是在对岸观望着恐惧了，眼前的景象其实也并不如我所想象的那么可怕……
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