Giving Up

The other day I had a writing setback. Not a huge one, but the timing of it made me add up all my rejections for the past few years, and... well, it was a big number.

Amid them, I've had a handful of acceptances, but so far, it's all come to ... well, nothing.

One thought brought me comfort: the thought of giving up.

I could just give up! I didn't have to do this any longer. I didn't have to work toward publishing my fiction. I didn't even have to write fiction.

Give up.

It was possible. I could stop for a little while, or forever.

I could give up.

Why was the comforting? Because it's a choice. As long as I can give up, I am free. The corollary is that as long as I pursue this path, it means that I am choosing it.

So I'm choosing it for now.

Here's a little theme song for those of us who need the option to quit so that we keep going. There's no glory in compulsion -- I choose this of my own free will.