Vibe: limerence, exquisite pain, diary-esque
Rejections: 6 (1 lovely & personal!)
Since falling in love with you, I began to believe in making wishes again—and in listening for myths and magic everywhere—but now it’s so much harder to know what I really want to come true. You said you wanted to talk to me on the phone today, but I told you I would be too busy. Really I just didn’t want to be disappointed.
Read more in Red Noise Collective's fall 2023 issue, Sonance (available in print or ebook). I love this piece from a previous issue, "Calling Names" by Olivia Cobb: "my words were gifts,/ offerings of what I knew of myself/ thrown at every oak and pines' feet."
As the title suggests, this piece came from a notebook I kept many summers ago, when I was riding around on the bus and thinking constantly of a long-distance lover. (I'm also crazy about French writer Annie Ernaux, and was inspired by Things Seen.) I typed it up to honour my younger, hurting self, then (nervously!) presented it my writing group for workshop.
After hearing their feedback, I decided to lean into the poetic and visual elements of the original notebook, and produce something hybrid. It feels so, so vulnerable to have this out in the world (!) but I'm also proud of the work I put into it, and the courage it took to hit submit. I hope that encourages you to do the same.
Prompt
Keep a notebook with you for 10 days. Take it everywhere and note as many observations as possible. Then type it up, and see if there are any organic motifs and themes that emerge.