Dear Me

Dear Me,

Don’t try to deny it. You know you are way too hard on yourself. You’d like for me to make this a long list of goals. Do you actually think you can fool me so easily? I know all your tricks and how you think. When it gets tough, and you know it’s going to get tough, you’ll click on this list and say, “Here’s proof I’m a loser. Look at everything I have failed to do. I should have been able to do this. How could I dare to call myself a writer?”

Bottom line: I’m not going to allow you to “should” on yourself. No writer is without critics, but I’m not handing over any ammunition you can use to sabotage yourself. I’m asking you to be as kind and as supportive to yourself as you are to your friends. I want you to be able to align your heart with your head. You know writing is as difficult as it is rewarding. Sometimes it will be awkward, messy, and awful, but you’re going to keep writing.

And please, please, please, don’t compare yourself to other writers! You cannot be anything other than who you are. You have your own unique experiences and ways of perceiving this complex world. Find your unique voice. Write the stories that give you pleasure; the stories you were meant to write; stories that resonate and ring true. If you force yourself to be anything other than the writer you are, you will have denied and demeaned your very essence.

Please try to write as frequently as you can. Honor your muse and she will be there for you. Be grateful for steady, albeit slow, progress. Writing well is an art form; it cannot be rushed or forced. Nothing really worthwhile is ever easy.

I’ll be pulling for you.

Meg



309 words



Featured in Feb. 23, 2011 Drama Newsletter "Audience Determines Dramatic Effect"