Fear of Rejection

I think everyone fears rejection and, in my opinion if they don’t, they aren’t human! For some reason, it seems ingrained in our daily lives, in every aspect we do and accomplish.

I’ve always known that I wanted to be a writer, an author, since I was eighteen years old (please don’t do the math LOL). When I was thirteen years old, I discovered my mother’s romance novels hidden beneath her bed. Now granted, up until then, I had a major reading problem in school. Could barely read and write. Just didn’t have that interest or inclination.

I didn’t care. I was bullied in school and was just focused on hiding, on being invisible and making it through each day.

Until…

Until I discovered the stories that piqued my interest. I remember hiding in my room, staying up late on a school night reading, sometimes until two in the morning. I even snuck my novels in class. I did get in trouble a bit for that! It was all I did. I was a huge bookworm. To me, it was an escape, an escape from teenage drama, fights with siblings, stress, and anxiety.

It was diffidently an awesome way to travel the world! And I soon graduated out of the special Ed program for reading. My grades improved!

However…

At eighteen, I discovered I wanted to write. I wanted to write my own stories, be in control of every aspect of my characters and in a way, make friends outside of my little slice of the world, a world where the bullies either saw the light or got their own version of Karma.

But the fear of rejection was always there.

What if people didn’t like my stories?

What if I didn’t have the talent that some of the authors I read did?

What if I tried but failed?

How could I, an eighteen-year-old girl just starting out, compete with them?

Every scenario possible hit me.

Fear. Rejection. Doubt. It was all there.

Then I started to write, and it was like a whole new world opened. To combat some of my fear and rejection obstacles, I did eventually go to school and obtained my Master of Fine Arts in English and Creative Writing. I learned so much and through the years, I’ve honed my craft. I’ve gotten better, as would anyone studying the craft of writing and storytelling, and now, with age, I honestly don’t care. I know I’m a good writer but it’s not just that. I think I’ve grown as a person, as an author through the years but how does someone just starting out, or even not starting out but going through those same fears of rejection, handle those doubts?

Write. Study. Research. Read.

Don’t give up.

That fear will always be there. If I’m honest with myself, (and I always try to be whether I want to deal with it or not) I still deal with it occasionally. It hasn’t left me entirely, but it has dimmed, and it will for you as well.

Write. Study, research. Read.

Rinse and repeat.

You’ll get there and you won’t be sorry!

Never give up on your dream. Sometimes, it’s all you have in this crazy world!!

Stay sane and stay safe my friends!