Well said. I’m at this stage now. Receiving rejections. It hurts. And it may throw me off the path for a while. But I keep coming back. To write. To write more. To finish what I’ve started. I comfort myself with the thought that the after I receive 100 rejections I’ll be cured. It’s like breaking a curse. Or after I finish this story, I’ll stop. No luck there yet. The stories keep coming, so are the rejections.
It starts feeling like a weird masochistic compulsion after a while, right? There’s nothing that can ever take the sting out of it. And it feels even more hopeless when those rejections don’t give you any useful feedback that can help you aim your next shot. Cleaving to your craft is the only salve, I think. Your own expertise can exist separate from everything else, from all those emotional storms. How you feel about your own ability has little to do with how well you can actually write. Masters can think they’re hacks; hacks can think they’re masters. And you’ll feel completely different about your writing the next day, and the next and so on. Wishing you all the very best out there, Katherine. (And thank you so much for subscribing. Really hope you get something out of my posts.)
Great post, exactly what I needed to hear. Today's rejection was like a punch in the stomach (I had high hopes), but I can't not write. I'll keep going because rejection isn't failure - failure is giving up.
Inspiring words to read when I’m in that weird phase between writing and not writing
Well said. I’m at this stage now. Receiving rejections. It hurts. And it may throw me off the path for a while. But I keep coming back. To write. To write more. To finish what I’ve started. I comfort myself with the thought that the after I receive 100 rejections I’ll be cured. It’s like breaking a curse. Or after I finish this story, I’ll stop. No luck there yet. The stories keep coming, so are the rejections.
It starts feeling like a weird masochistic compulsion after a while, right? There’s nothing that can ever take the sting out of it. And it feels even more hopeless when those rejections don’t give you any useful feedback that can help you aim your next shot. Cleaving to your craft is the only salve, I think. Your own expertise can exist separate from everything else, from all those emotional storms. How you feel about your own ability has little to do with how well you can actually write. Masters can think they’re hacks; hacks can think they’re masters. And you’ll feel completely different about your writing the next day, and the next and so on. Wishing you all the very best out there, Katherine. (And thank you so much for subscribing. Really hope you get something out of my posts.)
Great post, exactly what I needed to hear. Today's rejection was like a punch in the stomach (I had high hopes), but I can't not write. I'll keep going because rejection isn't failure - failure is giving up.
Well said, Alister! Wishing you all the best.
I'll be including this in my monthly list of great arts reads. Love it!
Thanks, Cole! Really appreciated!