Tow #2: The Art of Rejection

https://www.creativenonfiction.org/brevity/craft/craft_agodon5_09.htm

In this little narrative created by Kelli Russell Agodon, she speaks about the intelligence of writers and how rejection effects the mind of a writer, as well as the emotions. She examines the idea of whether or not writers give up after being rejected. This caused me to think about a few things. One idea was, what if people who were rejected had given up? Although it sounds super cliche, it's extremely interesting to think about. The writer uses a bit of a personal narrative to show that she hadn't given up; she had been rejected eight times as a writer. Then, she goes on, using the phrase "writing is a marathon, not a sprint" (which was ironically used in Mr. Yost's class almost every day, and I'm wondering if this is the article he had found it from...) Anyway, I found it interesting that the author concluded by saying that all

writers are in it together. I never really thought about writing as a team effort, but when looking at the big picture, one can argue that supporting the writing of others can actually help maintain that person's career. Someone who had been rejected is more likely to continue trying if they have other writers supporting them. The author, in this case, had been rejected by The New Yorker, The Notre Dame Review, and The North American Review. She uses this analogy of a race to show that giving up is never the answer. She claims that just because she "slowed down in mile two, doesn't mean that the race is over" (Agodon 1). This little article was not only intriguing, but it was inspiring. I would have never thought about writing as something that someone would give up on, like playing a sport or and instrument, but when I was finished with the article, it reminded me that writing is a sport to some people. It's a way to creatively express yourself and keep your mind active. The author even wrote about the pity-parties that she sometimes throws herself after being rejection, just to try and keep her spirits up. I love her little humorous comments throughout the article because it made it more entertaining to read. I definitely learned that writing will not always be perfect, and it helped me better understand why an English class will be so difficult- no writing will be perfect.