This afternoon, I finally cracked open Well-Read Women: Portraits of Fiction's Most Beloved Heroines, a book my husband got me for Christmas (which I requested, of course). The quote on this particular page made me pause. I haven't read any Ayn Rand, but her words resonated and reminded me of how interconnected we all are, especially across social media.
Yesterday I pushed a button and sent the most vulnerable part of my heart out into the online world, a place where people often hide behind screens and cut others down with a few careless taps of their keys. I was so nervous about what strangers might say. I worried about being judged. Being called selfish.
Today, a day later, I can proudly say that I've never had such an overwhelmingly positive response to a piece I've written. As a writer, you often fear your work will fall into the cyber abyss and no one will hear it thud into the silence. We may be solitary souls, us scribblers, but we crave validation and feedback, too. We want to know we're making a difference, touching a heart, striking a chord.
I received so many beautiful comments yesterday that I actually compiled them into 15 pages of a Word doc. It was important for me to save them, to savour them, to archive my pride. There will be days ahead when I need to pull out that file full of kindnesses. I know this. And on those tough, challenging days of rejections and silence, I will read through it and remember why I do this, why I transfer my secrets into the screen and share them with all of you.
A sincere thank you to everyone who responded to my story and let know how it made you felt. My heart is lighter for it.
Last week I also published a poem, Tabula Rasa, on the literary journal, The Sunlight Press. You can read it here.
It was a long path to publication for this one, mainly because I never felt confident enough to submit it anywhere. I didn't consider myself a "serious" poet. I was scared of being vulnerable, of exposing too much of my personal life and past. But my writing journey over the past few years has taught me something important: the more I share stories and snapshots from an authentic and honest place, the more people respond to it and see themselves in it. I'm so happy I finally worked up the nerve to send it to a publication I respect and admire.
Yesterday I pushed a button and sent the most vulnerable part of my heart out into the online world, a place where people often hide behind screens and cut others down with a few careless taps of their keys. I was so nervous about what strangers might say. I worried about being judged. Being called selfish.
Today, a day later, I can proudly say that I've never had such an overwhelmingly positive response to a piece I've written. As a writer, you often fear your work will fall into the cyber abyss and no one will hear it thud into the silence. We may be solitary souls, us scribblers, but we crave validation and feedback, too. We want to know we're making a difference, touching a heart, striking a chord.
I received so many beautiful comments yesterday that I actually compiled them into 15 pages of a Word doc. It was important for me to save them, to savour them, to archive my pride. There will be days ahead when I need to pull out that file full of kindnesses. I know this. And on those tough, challenging days of rejections and silence, I will read through it and remember why I do this, why I transfer my secrets into the screen and share them with all of you.
A sincere thank you to everyone who responded to my story and let know how it made you felt. My heart is lighter for it.
Last week I also published a poem, Tabula Rasa, on the literary journal, The Sunlight Press. You can read it here.
It was a long path to publication for this one, mainly because I never felt confident enough to submit it anywhere. I didn't consider myself a "serious" poet. I was scared of being vulnerable, of exposing too much of my personal life and past. But my writing journey over the past few years has taught me something important: the more I share stories and snapshots from an authentic and honest place, the more people respond to it and see themselves in it. I'm so happy I finally worked up the nerve to send it to a publication I respect and admire.
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