Week 01: Thursday Task -- A Letter to the Editor

[rejectionchallenge]

Take a look at those old enemies of your creativity, including your inner censor if you like. Pick one, and write a letter to the editor about why they are wrong about you and your work.

Unlike real letters to the editor, this letter has no word limit, so feel free to go into detail about just how wrong your enemy is and why.

You can write this letter in your own voice, or use another one. Fictional is ok. I like to do this exercise in the voice of a very young Amazon reviewer who thinks I am THE GREATEST MOST LIFE-CHANGING AUTHOR and is prepared to fling the vilest insults she can invent at anyone who dares to suggest otherwise. Because I have a lot of trouble championing myself, it helps to have fictional champions whom I don't directly identify with and therefore don't immediately resist. You can also write in the voice of a friend, a good teacher from real life, another artist whom you look up to -- whatever is easiest or most fun for you.

The important thing is to add a dissenting voice to the dialogue. The enemies of your creative self-worth have their opinions, but don't let them trick you into thinking they're the only voice worth listening to. Give someone else a say.

Once you've written the letter, send it to yourself, so that you'll get it in the future. Put it in an envelope and mail it, or schedule an email to arrive a few days or a week later. Be sure to open it and read it when it does.

Did you do your morning pages today?

Comments

[rejectionchallenge]

Super late to my own party, but I did do my morning pages today -- in crayon! The crayon was a form of cheating; I made the letters really big so I could get through three pages quicker because I had a bunch of work emergencies to get to. The crayon had an interesting (not that interesting) effect on my handwriting, though.

[ljwrites]

I did something similar in signing my artist's contract with colored pencil, lol. Problem is, they were highlighter pencils and were practically illegible in writing.

[ljwrites]

My letter to the editor goes like this:

I would like to speak up in protest of my mother throwing away my story notebooks along with my comic books when I was in junior high. I thought at first I had misplaced one--I was a pretty forgetful kid, after all--but when I started a new one and it also disappeared I didn't say anything. I also stopped writing for years.

I understand she wanted me to focus on my studies and go to a good college, as every Korean parent does. Not being a parent myself, I cannot imagine the pressure and fear parents feel trying to ensure their children's futures. However, that is a reason and not a justification.

The sad part is, I write stories to get the OUT of my head. Arguably I was more distracted when I had no outlet for my stories than when I could write and get on with the rest of my day.

I wish I'd spoken to Mom about this. I wish I could speak to her at all, as she passed away years ago. We had a good relationship overall, but her conception of what was best for me and her vision of what I could be overwhelmed every other consideration at times. I cut away parts of myself so I would be loved and accepted, and my creative assurance was one of the sacrifices.

I strive to grow that creative part of me back today, in defiance of my mother but also in memory of her. My life might not be exactly what my mom envisioned for me when she was alive, but I'm happier than I would have been if I'd lived her blueprint. I honor my mother and her frustrated dreams by dishonoring her specific wishes, knowing and trusting her real wishes were so much more than a career or an illicit notebook. I love you Mom, I miss you, and you were sort of a jerk to me that one time.