My Hero and SumGreater have both been so encouraging. Family members are often the first ones to point out our flaws. Perhaps they hope to save us from future ridicule by letting us know we've forgotten our pants before we walk out the door. More often, they prevent us from ever leaving the house. But these two continually praise what good I have to offer and lovingly share ideas for improvement only when I ask for them. This works for me since I'm sure most of it is "eh-stinky," as we say at our house. It's nice to have someone saying, "Save that. It's working." Continual encouragement is definitely a better motivator than rejection. I'll be thinking about that this week. And I'll be writing.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Encouragement
I want to be a writer. SumGreater says that part of that is collecting a wall full of rejection letters proving my courage to write anyway. My Mom said something similar about stretch marks after my first child and I didn't believe her either. I had an essay proposal accepted to be part of a book. My first essay was too narrative, my second essay was the same topic as two other essays already being included and my third essay was "valuable and interesting," but "not a good match." Being rejected three times by this obscure project with an obscure publisher that was going to pay nothing anyway, did not make me feel courageous. I haven't wanted to write anything at all- not even a to-do list.
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3 comments:
I wish you could be near enough to come to my weekly writer's group...and for all the millions of other things we'd do together.
I don't think of my stretch marks like a badge of honor either, though I did write a song inspired by them called 'Battle Scars.' And I've never submitted anything for publication, so the opportunity for rejection hasn't exactly come my way yet. But I've spent so much of my life not trying too hard, so if I failed, I could tell myself, "That wasn't my best anyway." I don't want that shallow victory anymore. I'd rather really do my best and at least succeed in trying.
Maybe someday, we'll both have loads of rejection emails and letters--which we can turn into some kind of paper mache project. But maybe we'll also have printed work.
I've faced other kinds of rejection and it feels crummy. I'd bring you something yummy to curb the pain if I could (I often show love through baking). But really and truly, I've never read anything you've written that was "eh-stinky." (Thank you, Nacho).
The more you write how you talk, the better it gets. You're really a very eloquent person. And you're fiery, too, which I love. So, being yourself is the clearest path to creative success...not thinking about what others want, but what YOU feel and think. If that's the case, then it only makes sense that the people who love you best for who you are should be your biggest cheerleaders. We're just so glad to see you, even if it's on a page instead of in person.
Maybe we should do a book instead of waiting to get into someone else's.
Ra! Ra! Ra!
keep writing- keep writing-
i think its so hard to write for others.
when we write for ourselves about something we feel strongly about it just flows. and it does not matter if someone else likes it. because we feel good about it.
just keep writing ... just keep writing ...
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