“Dear Writer,
Sometimes we treat the negative voices in your head - the ones who say we can’t do this writing thing, we’re not as good as so-and-so, nobody will read what we write - as if they are voices that deserve respect.

As if they speak from some great authority & know what is true.

As if they don’t take our silence as tacit acceptance of their whispers to hammer away at our deepest insecurities.

To hell with that.

You tell that voice that she’s had her turn, it’s no longer her time. It’s time to shut the hell up & be quiet for once. Life is too short - & your art too precious - to waste it on bullies.

Make no mistake, she IS a bully. Ignoring bullies makes them louder, more insistent on getting in your face & shutting you down.

No more.

Fact. Bullies don’t speak truth from a place of power, but they are really good at convincing us that they do.

They actually just hone in on our weaknesses with extraordinary precision and speak lies from a place of false bravado.

They expect us not to talk back, gain their power by our acceptance of their words. When we don’t speak they take that as permission to get louder.

Not this time.

This time you stop & write down what the voice is saying. Then you cross that shit out with the biggest, blackest marker you can find and tell her she needs to listen.

This time, you talk back, draw yourself up to the fullness of your power. Root down into the depth of your truth. Coax that flame in your belly until you feel it fire up your whole being.
Then you tell her YOUR truth. In writing, so it won’t be forgotten.

Tell her she’s wasting time. That you’ve got art to make. That you’re done with her lies & attempts to undermine your power & silence the stories that live inside you. Tell her whatever the hell you want, but do it with all of you. Be willing to go past what you even believe and have your own back this time. Write exactly the words you need to say, which also happen to be exactly the words that you need to hear.

And then be done with it. And write. After all, that voice wouldn’t ever be this loud if she didn’t know you had something important to say.

So say it, writer. The world is waiting for you.”