Writing Can Be Lonely

Writing can be lonely.

Not metaphorically lonely — literally lonely.

It’s hours spent inside a mind no one else can access.

It’s choosing silence when the world wants noise.

It’s disappearing into a story only you can hear, only you can hold.

Most days, it’s just you at a desk, trying to say something the way it deserves to be said.

And even when you finally finish a piece, the loneliness doesn’t end. You send it to a friend, a partner, a writing group, hoping they’ll feel what you felt while writing it. Often they’re supportive — but they don’t go deep. Not the way you secretly want. Not the way you quietly ache for.

Then there is the submission process:

emails into a void,

rejections with little context,

silence interpreted a hundred different ways.

At Neon & Smoke, we know this.

We know that long before your story arrived in our inbox, it lived with you.

It challenged you, delighted you, frustrated you, changed you.

And we know how vulnerable it is to send something into the world when you’ve been its only witness.

And yet —

Every once in a while, a story travels across that distance and finds someone.

An editor sees it. A reader claims it. A character resonates.

And suddenly the world feels a little less vast, a little less solitary.

Because someone met you in it.

Whether we publish your work or not, please know:

We see the hours you spent.

We see the care.

We see the private courage it took to press “submit.”

And we try to respond with the same humanity and thoughtfulness you brought to the work.

We are walking this path with you.

So keep going.

Keep writing.

Keep trusting that your voice matters.

Because it does.

With warmth,

T & J