The last word of this sentence stunned me. The Annie Dillard I know is one of the boldest writers. Could she experience fear when writing? She does. She says, “In your humility, you lay down the words carefully, watching all the angles.” Then, she looks for parts that look “soft and careless.” If it’s weak, it has to go. Cutting is hard because it requires admitting you are capable of not-great work. At the heart of her writing process lies this contradiction: she must be confident enough to be visionary, and humble enough to recognize when she misses the mark.
Dillard, Annie. The Writing Life. Harper & Row, 1989, p. 3.