The exposure is less remote when practicing without a belay.
The feel of the hand hold may seem like the most important thing at the moment.
As my hand or fingers slip from my hold and I slide off the cliff, my body banging against the rock.
I lunge out and hold on with bloody hands and as the cold numbs my fingers, I fall for the last time.
A failure to produce a final product in writing is not quite as bad as that 16 foot fall backwards into boulders onto the ground. But it seems like it may be fatal.
Neither will kill you, but both will cause you a lot of pain.