Dear Miss Wyatt,
We are writing to tell you that your writing is, well, weird. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen, but not in a good way. In some odd and peculiar sense, it cannot be understood by anyone who is not you. Tell me, what was your thought process when creating this… piece? Our journal is certainly not the home for it, but where could it possibly lay to rest? There is beauty in this work, but we cannot nd it.
You’ve created this strange structure of words that will never have a home. Perhaps we just can’t see its worth, or maybe you think it’s more worthy than it really is. I would strongly advise you to give up on this one. You must have something more normal in your collection. Less incomprehensible, less obscure. This is your 14th time sending us something, and we’re beginning to believe you have a hard time understanding words (which is obviously absolutely imperative for a writer to know). You’ve tried the simple, the needlessly complex, the truth, the fabrication, and now you’ve given us the insane.
There’s tragedy in this piece that we like, but not from the words. There is struggle here. Desperation. A sorrow written into the very fabric of its creation. As a creator, how have you doomed your work to unknowingness before it’s ever been perfected? We’re still puzzled as to how you managed to do anything like this. Do let us know in your reply your motivation for writing in this manner. It’s marvellous really. If possible, we’d like to publish your creation process. But these words, how could you come up with these words after such a brilliant display of heartache and pain? We watched you bleed onto this page. We watched you soak it with your tears and snot, and we watched you hang it out to dry. The eort put into this was astounding. We can tell you really wanted to make it onto our pages.
It’s almost painful to turn you away, but honestly, how is this all you’ve come up with? We apologize for the crudeness, but did you really use your blood, sweat and tears to write four words?
“Can I be forgiven?” You sent us.
The answer is simple, Miss Wyatt. No, you may not.
– Signed, The Editor
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Jaidah-Leigh Wyatt is a Canadian-Jamaican writer, currently studying film in university. She enjoys anything horror-related (specifically psychological horror) but has also been delving into absurdism and surrealism as of late. Overall she aims to create works that challenge your perspectives and change your views. Whether it be writing, films, or drawing, you can always find her working on something (or so she says).
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image: “on fire:” Andrea Damic lives in Sydney, Australia. She has been published in 50-Word Stories, Friday Flash Fiction, Microfiction Monday Magazine and Paragraph Planet with her photographs occasionally featuring in Rejection Letters. Recently one of her photographs got included in the Fusion Art’s 4th Annual Lines, Shapes and Objects Exhibition (July 2022). You can find her on Twitter @DamicAndrea or Facebook. One day she hopes to finish and publish her novel.
Rejection Letters 