Building Something Beautiful Takes Time

It's my third day on Substack, and I'm grateful to have 14 new followers! My tarot prompt this week has yet to yield any shared writing from my audience (to be fair, it's only been 24 hours), so sadly, I don't have a Friday story to give you today, as promised in my intro post. Hopefully, by next week, I'll be swimming in a sea of your delightful words.

Since I said I would share other people's words, I will leave you with a quote that inspired me, which was shared by my teacher at the beginning of my writing class this week. 

"If you are reading this, and you're a writer, and you, like me, are gripped with despair, when you think you might stop: Speak to your dead. Write for your dead. Tell them a story. What are you doing with this life? Let them hold you accountable. Let them make you bolder or more modest or louder or more loving, whatever it is, but ask them in, listen, and then write. And when war comes—and make no mistake, it is already here—be sure you write for the living too. The ones you love and the ones who are coming for your life. What will you give them when they get there?" -Alexander Chee

I have been feeling hopeless since the election results came in, tired. I have tried to edit some work, but it's been hard. When I heard my teacher read this, a few tears escaped my weary eyes, and I didn't know why. The next day, after rereading Chee's essay, I realized what I heard in these words gave me relief. I felt seen and understood in my despair and encouraged that when I've recovered a bit, I will still have reason to write, maybe even more now than before.

What does this quote make you think and feel? Tell me about it, I want to hear it!