LET’S TALK ABOUT QUITTING. (I know, I’m just full of sunshine and daisies these days.) “When do I walk away?” is a question everyone faces at some point in their lives. Whether it’s a troubled relationship, a crappy job, a grueling education track, or anything else, there comes a time when you have to make […]
Rejection Survivor Interview: Kaelan Rhywiol
A previous Rejection Survivor interviewee, Elizabeth Bell, suggested a long time ago that I write a post about coping with rejection while dealing with mental illness. I struggled to figure out how to address it on the blog, though, because the blog itself was born from my own process of therapy, and it’s impossible for […]
How to Not Be a Stuck-Up Jerk to Emerging Artists
Supporting other writers is one of the golden rules of the writing community. I’ve seen sooo many articles and Tweets along the lines of, “Other writers are not competition! They’re your support network! There’s enough room on the bookshelves for everybody!” Well, I would contest that last bit–depends what sort of bookshelf–but it’s beside the […]
How to Brace Yourself for a Tough Rejection While Holding On to Hope
I have often made the case on this blog that we should avoid what I call “prophylactic pessimism”: expecting the worst in order to numb ourselves to disappointment. But this raises the question: if we’re hoping for the best, but not necessarily expecting it, is there any way to prepare ourselves for coping with a negative outcome […]
Rejection Survivor Interview: Brian Gehrlein
A new pastime of mine in recent weeks has been stalking Twitter for writers talking about rejection and accosting them with a link to the blog and occasionally a request for an interview. (Is this what people call “promotion”…?) And I have to say, I have yet to regret extending that invitation. I always learn […]