Writing is so much about resistance. Resisting the inner voice that tells you your work is worthless. Resisting the external voices that tell you your perspective is worthless. Resisting the easy way out of a story or essay or poem. Resisting the very human impulse to put your work off for a day, a month, a year.

Writing is so much about persistence – persisting even after a lengthy absence. Persisting in spite of the difficulty of putting your thoughts into words that others can understand. Persisting in spite of failure to communicate your vision. Persisting in spite of rejection by others. Persisting in your belief in what is important, good, and right.

The new issue of Baltimore Review contains a poem I began ten years ago that’s been rejected more times than I can count. Like a lot of my poems, it’s trying to share the love.

If anyone (including you) tries to bury your ideas, take heart in knowing your ideas are seeds. They will rise up.