"But to write a story is to inch backward and forward along a series of planks you are canterlevering out into the darkness, plank by plank, inch by inch, and the best you can hope is that each day you find yourself a little farther out over the abyss."

Anthony Doerr in "Four Seasons in Rome," Page 98

Although "Four Seasons in Rome" is non-fiction, Doerr, in this quote, is talking
about the art of writing fiction. However I think this quote also applies to
those who may be writing "risky" non-fiction, as in telling the story or stories
of difficult or troubling experiences in their lives.