Letter to the editor.

Be complex, be interesting, and be new. How do I pull that off? My stories come to me when I least expect them to. A line, it’s sometimes the beginning of a story or an end, but a line always comes dancing into my head unexpectedly and drives me crazy. But somehow when I sit with that line in front of a keyboard and begin hammering out sentences, I feel freedom. I feel joy and most of all; I feel like I’m finally home. I do not know how great writers get their ideas and I definitely do not claim to be a great writer. All my life I’ve been average. Second best. Not the last to be chosen but surely not the first either. So when I realised I could write moderately well, all I wanted to do was improve and be great, for once in my life. Being great isn’t easy, excellence; they say comes with a price. I’m broke. And I don’t see excellence coming any time soon. 

Criticism, however, is free of cost. I like critisicism, but only the kind that builds me up and helps me improve. Not the kind that says, ‘Hey, you suck! Never. Write. Again.’ Some people say, ‘Why don’t you write happier things?’, and I think, again, these stories here, they’re accidents, like an unplanned pregnancy. So how do I decide in advance how my story is going to turn out?  I could be a historian seeing that I’m reaching the age where floppy disks where a thing of the past. Maybe an autobiography author, because hey, my life is so dull that I must now look for excitement in someone else’s. A ghost writer? Because I’m too afraid of critics?

I haven’t yet found my niche. I do not know how to tell stories with ease. I still Google for synonyms and do spell check. I forget to edit and I miss punctuation sometimes (ok, most times). I’m self conscious of my stories and I’m afraid people aren’t going to like them so when you tell me, ‘ Be complex and be new’, I wonder what you mean. I wonder if I’m not a good writer and I wonder if you’re saying ‘Never. Write. Again’, oh-so-subtly. So, be kind, if possible to a new writer and maybe take a little time off from your busy schedule and tell me what you mean exactly when you tell me to be new and complex. Like I said, criticism is always welcome. Thank you again, for your time.