N is for Never Give Up

Dear Marion,

We regret that we are unable to use the enclosed material. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to consider it.

Sincerely,
The Editors

One of the letters sharing that the editors are not able to use the enclosed material and thank me for giving them an opportunity to consider my work. Thank you.

Honestly this hurts, a kick to the heart so to speak, just not fair, little stumping her feet, ego kinda reaction, and they spell my name wrong! A brief moment of emotional reaction, the self-sabotage wanting to try one last time to take over. Nope, never gonna happen, thank you. I am stronger than that. Creative is stronger than that. I won’t let a little creative u-turn make me think twice about my creative life.

Many recovering artists become so threatened that they make U-turns and sabotage themselves. An artistic U-turn arrives on a sudden wave of indifference. We greet our newly minted product or our delightful process with ‘Aw, what does it matter anyhow? It’s just a start. Everybody else is so much further ahead. . . .”

• A screenwriter has an agent interested in repping a script with just a few changes. He doesn’t make the changes.
• A painter is invited into a group show, his first, but picks a fight with the gallery owner.

 ~ Julia Cameron

How many times do we have something amazing happen and then we turn right around and run away, hide, thinking we are not good enough? I’ll be the first one to admit that I have. I couldn’t find a small enough cave to squeeze into if I got praise for a story I wrote or poem I shared in school. I wouldn’t write another thing for weeks or what felt like much longer. It shows us that when we are not doing the one thing we truly know is our path then we are literally lost.

Art is a crushing chore and a wonderful privilege. The work wants to be made, and it wants to be made through you. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

It’s easy to fall into the ego’s trap, but what’s that going to do? Make you feel like your lost, like something is missing? There is something missing, creativity and your creative life. Be true to your creativity, let it grab a hold of you and help you shine. It’s a two-way street. You listen to creativity and creativity will take care of you. I’ve come this far and I’m not about to give up.

Until next time, keep on typing. . . .