Rejection hurts, or, What doesn't kill you...

Being a writer requires a somewhat masochistic personality, I think. We love to write, it's our passion, but often we are left to dig our way out of the smoldering ruins of yet another rejection. This happened to me recently (again). Rejection hurts. But does that stop us from plopping down in front of the computer to work on the next story? No. I rest my case.

Writing is a lonely business, and when another rejection appears so unassumingly in my Inbox, I start to question why I even bother. It would be so easy to say “I don’t wanna write tonight,” and go watch Monday Night Football. I’ve even found myself wondering if I should give up the endeavor altogether. The eternal internal battle: self-doubt versus passion; fear versus dreams of avarice. So why do we continue to put ourselves in peril? Why risk the weight of all those rejections? Simple. Because we MUST write. We can’t picture our life without writing as a part of it. And because the asylum of characters, premises, story germs, plot arcs, and words-words-words running rampant in our heads won’t let us stop. There’s something wrong with us. We’re writers. Do we have any hope?

Yes.

Remember why you’re writing in the first place. What was it that originally juiced you to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard)? You have a story to tell. You have characters who are begging for you to bring them to life. You have an opinion to share. Or perhaps writing is a panacea for your inner peace, a therapy for dealing with strong emotions that need an outlet. That’s where you need to look for your reason to continue putting your babies out into the world where others will judge them—and possibly reject them.

Rejection hurts. But in the end, you will be stronger—both as a writer, and as a person.