Today I spent time looking at the details of the Medium challenge. 

The last date to submit my writing is on August 24th  - exactly 20 days away. 
Word limit is at least 500 words.
There are 4 topics: 

1) Death
2) Reentry
3) Work
4) Space

Judging Criteria: 

1. Creativity of Submission (40%);
2. Originality of Submission (30%); 
3.  Writing quality (30%).

 I spent a few minutes looking at the entries some people already submitted. 

That was a mistake.

The people on Medium are full time writers. Journalists. People that have already published books. People that have gone to school for literature. 

As I was reading the posts, all I was saying was - I would have never thought to write it that way. This is like reading Shakespeare. What does that even mean? 

I had to go for a walk after that. I needed to shut down the fear that was creeping up. That type of fear was crippling and would occupy too much space in my mind. 

I want to think about the stories I want to share without any influence. I have already noticed that 'Death' would be what attracts a lot of writers. Especially given COVID-19. And it is the easiest to write a moving piece about. I also found myself gravitating towards writing about death. But I want to think about this some more. I am drawing a blank when it comes to 'Space'. I feel no urge to write about anything when it comes to space. But work, reentry and death all seem appealing. 

Strategy:
1) Story selection: The hardest part is selecting which story to tell. Cause it has to be a story. This is a personal essay so it is going to have to be based on a story 
2) I don't intend to do any preaching. A workshop with the Medium folks let me know that it is not a good way to connect with readers. 
3) I have to go hunting for my humor skills. No one hates a nice funny piece. 
4) Keeping it short. It is the one thing I have been thinking to myself. The minimum is 500 words. I want to keep it at 501. 

This is still evolving but I have created my folder. Done some research. Attended a few masterclasses. Read a few of the famous medium posts. 

But I have been practicing writing my thoughts for almost 3 years now - give or take a few breaks. 
So no, the fear didn't last too long. Because this piece is going to be my best work yet.