Cynthia Morris - Original Impulse

When you’ve hauled yourself over the line of your deadline, when you’ve gotten the news that your story has been accepted, when a gallery finally sees your brilliance and puts your work on the walls, it is time to celebrate.
Here is a list of creative, inexpensive and fun ways to celebrate your successes. (The full article about celebrating is in this week’s The Muse. What? Not a subscriber! Go to my home page and join the party!)

Write a love note to yourself outlining all your brilliant characteristics.

Treat yourself to a new notebook or pack of pens.

Visit the art supply store and buy a new brush, tube of paint, sheet of beautiful paper, or other creative treat.

Take a pause. Go to the park or other natural environment and allow the sights and sounds to rejuvenate your spirit.

Give yourself an afternoon in the library, museum or bookstore. Pick up ideas and inspiration for the next creative phase.

Call up a creative buddy and schedule a walk or coffee date. Trade acknowledgements of each other’s progress.

Make a list of all the things you have done for your creativity in the last six months. Give yourself gold stars for everything.

Reread a journal or free write notebook. Take stock of how far you have come and prepare for more.

Compile your victories in a portfolio or notebook. Use a three-ring binder with plastic sheets to protect your clips, reviews, articles about you or other kudos you get.

Ask your significant other or a friend to help you celebrate. Let them in on the fun.

Get tickets for a concert, reading or gallery or museum show opening. Connecting to others’ creative expression will feed your own.

Make notes about what you brought to bear on your creative life. Your persistence, your sense of humor, your willingness to listen to your instincts, all will help you in the next phase of the journey.

Plan a retreat – an afternoon, a day, a weekend, a week – in a nearby locale to fuel yourself.

Make a list of your own celebrations and rewards. When you hit a milestone, small or large, you’ll be ready to party on! How do you celebrate? Share your ideas here.

Rejection hurts – there’s no doubt abut it. But there are ways to deal with it so you don’t feel like a victim. Shifting your perspective about rejection can be a huge help. Actually doing something about rejection can make it even easier to bear the pain of having your writing rejected. Here are a few rituals, or acts, that you can do to move forward from the big bad No!.

1. Write an encouraging letter to yourself. Remind yourself why you write and that it is worth any suffering.

2. Write another letter that expresses your emotions to the rejecting editor (then throw it away).

3. Revisit a former writing success such as a contest won or a prior publication. Gloat over your previous victories and know that they are just the beginning of your success.

4. Spend some time free writing on your experience with rejection. Start with the prompt, when I was rejected….

5. Throw a tantrum. Grab a big pillow and pummel it with all the force of your disappointment and anger behind it. Rant and rave about the unfairness of it all.

6. Exercise. Go for a walk or a run or a bike ride, or whatever you do to get into your body. Offer up your sweat to the rejection.

7. Some people save their rejection letters. You may want to add it to a file or…

8. Burn the rejection letter, and with it, all the disappointment.

9. Call a writer friend and tell them about the rejection. You may ask them to recount your strengths as a writer and a person. Make sure this friend is able to offer unconditional reassurance as part of your rejection ritual.

10. Do any of the above rituals and then get back to whatever you were writing. You must keep going!

What are your methods for handling rejection? Add your comments here.

Celebrating Your Creative Success

Ten Rejection Rituals