I don't know if I can do it!

I have this great idea for a story. Actually, it’s a series of stories. There are so many possible stories in this idea! It’s big. It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever thought of doing. I’ve done all kinds of research and made pages and pages of notes, and I’ve sketched out my first story, the characters, and even the subplots that will thread through all the stories.

But I’m not sure if I can do this. It’s daunting when I start one new book, to think of how many words and pages lie ahead of me. But when I’m thinking three or even five books? Aaack!

I guess I just need to take one step at a time. Write the first book. Write the first page. Write the first sentence. I know from experience that when I start a book feeling like I haven’t quite nailed down all the details, they do come together by the end. I don’t have to have all three or five stories completely planned out before I start the first one. Even if I end up with one story and never write the rest, that’s still something. Right?

The subject matter is intimidating too. It’s something I have no experience with and characters will travel to places in the world I’ve never been to. The jungles of South America. The coast of Africa. I don’t know if I can do it! But I won’t know unless I try.