Dear me (2017)

Dear me,

So you've made it through another year, and now you've retreated to the pen (or the word processor) to reflect. "Making it through" the year carries baggage, most of it negative, as if the year were a slog through a swamp of unwanted events clinging to you like mud. But, this is about more than just the year you've had, but the year yet to come. So, let's grab 2017 by the lips and yank as hard as we can!

Let's be honest. You didn't really have much in the way of goals last year. It was too busy, too chaotic, too full of nooks and crannies where excuses lurk like cockroaches, ready to scurry underfoot and trip us up just as we're pivoting to a new course of action. What held us back? Was it life? Was it love? Was it work? Was it our own frailty? The answer is - yes! All of the above! But it doesn't have to be this way. Life can be like a sled: we can try to carry it on our backs like we are beasts of burden, or we can set it down and ride it down the slope. I'm not saying it will always be a free ride, but much of what we make happen in our lives rides on our perspective. And that's what I'm trying to impart to you here; some perspective.

So, what did we accomplish last year? Let's focus on this craft we are trying to develop - the written word. You enjoy writing, don't you? So what did you accomplish? You didn't write that novel, you didn't publish that short story. And it wasn't completely for lack of trying, but your efforts were still somewhat wanting.

Let's start with the short story. You did submit one short fiction for publication, and it was rejected. Yes, it was discouraging, and confidence-sapping. But, do you know who else got rejected early in their careers? Every writer ever! Rejection stories are more the rule, rather than the exception, and you are no different. Are you not convinced that your craft is sufficient? You have written dozens of stories, some of which you posted online, many of which have been recognized by online communities as well-written and inspired, and a few that even won contests. Is that not enough? Is it too painful to throw yourself onto the tender mercies of indifferent editors, hoping that yours will be the jewel among the pebbles littering their slush piles?

As for the novel, haven't you had a wealth of ideas? Isn't your imagination populated by characters so varied, so interesting, so alive that you are just as interested in getting to know them as any real person you've ever met? Aren't they real to you? Don't you hold the patterns in your mind for the tapestries upon which you will weave the fates of these characters? Aren't you bursting to put this all down on paper?

Perhaps ability and inspiration are not the issue. Perhaps it is volition. The hardest thing to do in any writing project is to actually sit down. Funny isn't it, that the biggest obstacle to creating your masterpiece is the one thing it takes no skill whatsoever to do. But you are on your way. You have committed to putting at least 1000 words per day on paper, and so far this year, you haven't failed. Keep it up for the next week, then the next month, and finally the next year, building up speed like a train. Make the commitment, stay the course, and who knows how far this train will go?

Perhaps the most compelling story will be the one you are writing right now, the one you are telling just by being alive. Like the fictional stories you have written, the ending remains mysterious until you get there. You won't know the characters until you meet and get to know them. You will be on the edge of your seat, turning page after page, wondering what comes next. That is what life is about! If life imitates art, let your art imitate life. The two exist on either side of a mirror that you can pass through at will. Beg, borrow, or steal at will from one side to supply the other, and weave that rich tapestry on both sides of the mirror. I promise you it will be worthwhile.

I won't claim to know what will happen next, but you will build - and then cross - that bridge when you come to it. Commit to publishing something, anything. Even if it's just one little short story, that success will be the foundation on which you will build the rest. Commit to that 1000 words (or more), to make it a habit, something as natural as breathing. Commit to sitting down. That's the only way you will be able to crawl, walk, and finally run to your goals. Commit to sharing a story with the world through print media. Commit to writing that novel. At 1000 words per day, that should be easily done. You have the ideas in your head, now make it reality.

I wish you the best year you've ever had, and a successful one. You have a lot going on in your life, but that means you will have a lot of material to borrow from, to pull across that mirror and populate the landscape. Don't neglect it. And, see you on the other side.

Sincerely Yours,

Graham (from 2016)