Write Awhile

Seasoned writers often talk about rejection as a stumbling block that serious writers don’t let get in their way, as if brilliance must come paired with persistence or it isn’t real brilliance. The reality, however, is that everyday the world is shortchanged of marvelous, as-yet-unwritten creations simply because their authors’ confidence was blighted before it could mature into persistence.

Many brilliant writers lack the confidence to keep writing after their work is rejected for the 10th, 20th, 100th, 300th time. They receive harsh feedback or—worse—none at all. They have high aspirations but too few friends or family members cheering them on, checking in on their latest project, reminding them that they are worthy. A little goes a long way in this regard.

Write Awhile was born after I developed a new relationship to my writing, one based on simple, frequent acts of persistence rather than elaborate, sporadic forms of insistence. By replacing cut and dried expectations with a fluid, supportive expectancy, it became easy to set time aside for acts of imagination. I founded Write Awhile because writers' dreams deserve to be recognized, encouraged, believed in, protected, celebrated, and, ultimately, lived.

From one writer to another, you are worthy of your ambitions and of a ritual, non-negotiable writing practice. If you are someone who could use reminding of this. If you have internalized all the "don't"s or if perfectionism has you second-guessing too much enjoyment out of the journey, I invite you to join the Write Awhile community.