Creativity is the Motivation was still in high school when I wrote what I thought was a science fiction master piece. I really thought my writing was on a level of par excellence with the great science fiction writers. I was really quite full of myself. I sent the short story to the one place I was convinced it would be well received, praised for its original theme, and my story telling ability. Everyday, I would go straight home to check the mail for the response from the science fiction magazine. When the letter finally arrived, I went to the quietest place in the house, my room. With the door closed, I opened the letter. I think what most surprised me, was that it was so short. Just a few lines, thank you, but no thank. It said something like, "not for us." I really had not expected a rejection letter.
My initial reaction was a sense of embarrassment. There is really no way, I think, to prepare for your first rejection letter. I put the manuscript away. It was a long time before I got over the sense of embarrassment. It would be along time before I would look at it again, but not a long time before I would begin writing again. After about a week, I fell back into my regular routine of writing everyday; something, even if it was just a page. I realized that I was not writing for others, but that I was writing for myself. Not to write would have resulted in all these characters and storylines piling up inside my mind, and who knows what that might have led to; maybe irregularity.
A didn't send off any more stories, but I have saved all of them. There are characters sealed into the CD discs that line my writer's drawer. They're there, and sometimes I go back to them and I edit.
A recently read somewhere about a famous author who said that he spent a year or more editing his work.
You’re 80% through this paper. Sign up to read the full paper.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.