Writer's Fallout Shelter

An editor once challenged me to write an essay on "Why I'm afraid to write a novel." I thought she was nuts. She was also an agent, and offered to edit my first novel at no charge, and to represent me if I wanted her to, if I wrote the novel in the next 12 months. I wrote the essay, but procrastinated on the novel (I think I was terrified at the prospect of actually succeeding, maybe more than I was at failing). Anyway, the essay's in my port: "Invalid Item"  . I have to say, it was an eye-opener. I think every writer should go through this exercise, if they think they're suffering from "writer's block" or procrastination or whatever.