The writing life…when the words burst most days, dam up on occasion. When you cheer on your colleagues, study the masters intently and chew on a healthy curd of envy you learn to eat in moderation lest it eats you in return. You gnaw through your failures and avoid temptation to respond to rejections. More often than not, there’s a growth opportunity in turndowns.
When format becomes as important as content. When you take a sip of your favorite drink to hide the sighs during comeuppance. When the marketing and networking supercedes your creative time. Giving your loved ones their just dues, even when you lose a day or night of work.
Rejoicing when you get that publication notice, dropping humble, fun, engaging interaction when being invited to be interviewed. Knowing how damn lucky you are even on a slow sales day when a reader travels far to buy your work based on name, or if you’re really lucky, newly vested friendship. Knowing an autograph is a sacred bond with someone who cares enough about your work to seek you out.
I love this chase as much as it pains me at times. I’m on my way up, however long it takes. I have felt both lonely and well in-arms with a wide world of fellow scribes who get me and vice versa. I pray my desire stays true until I have nothing left to give, having left my mark I some fashion that says I am a writer.
–Ray Van Horn, Jr.
Roads Lesser Traveled 
Well… hello there Mr Writer 🙂
I’m proud of you and your journey. Keep it up, lad.
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Thank you, my dear friend. I will keep fighting. You, sir, need to be read beyond the internet. Bottled up genius.
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Feeling very Kafka and looking for someone to promise to burn all my writings after I die, but thank you for the high praise 🙏🏼
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Breh.
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” I pray my desire stays true until I have nothing left to give.” That’s poetry, brother.
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Air kisses to you, thank you, Ana!
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🤗
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I responded to a rejection once, and only once, because the editor accused me of falsifying my word count after I had gone through and very, very carefully eliminated a sentence here and a word there to hit their word limit exactly. I was outraged that my honor would be impugned thusly. One letter led to another letter and she ended up publishing the story, so I guess responding to a rejection worked out for like the only time ever …
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That’s a great story, James! Usually doesn’t win out in the writer’s favor, but good on you! I only wrote back a few times in my less experienced days and then a few “Thanks for reading” messages. Only one did I gently try to coax my way in, because I really wanted the publication in the anthology since I knew I had a rock solid match to the theme. Got the California no as in all cases, so you learn to just move on and try again later.
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