Weather

“Weather”

Dear Reedsy Judges,

      I hate reading people’s work. I love reading, but I only love reading if I feel that I’m learning something new. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of an English student finally getting that A or A- in English class and finally realizing that all you really had to do was open your heart about something that you really hold true and dear in your life, and somehow illustrate the importance of said topic in a creative or essay form. I mean, we might as well plant a Godamn tree together, if we were to work together, trying to prevent the collapse of western civilization through the use of creating good literature, or metaphorically, the beginning of a better world.

       I hate to get all metaphorical and all, because some people don’t like that stuff, you know, and sometimes I don’t like it when people get all metaphorical and the conversations gets all ooey-gooey, but this metaphorical tree we’re planting through writing literature has got to stand as a good symbol of hope. It makes me sick just writing that, but sometimes it helps to analyze things like that in a way that gives me and you a different perspective and all.  

     But this symbol of hope, I think, shouldn’t just come from the tree or the movies or the books, singularly, itself. I think it should come through the collective process. You know, like the relationship between a damn good English Teacher and a damn good English Student. Because sometimes, working as a writer, after have seen so many shrinks telling me to use writing in order to express my problem with preventing a foreseeable future with a greater evil that could have gone in a direction of a possible future with a lesser evil, therefore, I think our job with this tree thing, is to lay a foundation for future writing because, it’s almost a cliché for me, now how good writing that sells should be a piece of literature, because most writing that sells is just, really good writing that sells, and a piece of literature is a piece of literature. So maybe your ability to read all these stories, and not just mine, allows you to read into what these writers are saying, like really saying, about life, or a prompt or just what’s in their heart during that week, kind of like a high school English Teacher.

But yeah, I kind of miss that. Like the English Class setting sort of thing. Because I would go to school, looking forward to English Class, because something important would always be said. I miss it because I miss the days of having someone who genuinely cared about what I had to say through my writing, because nowadays with this gig as a writer, and all, it’s like my voice gets rejected over and over again. Like I have something to say, but that English Teacher who was genuinely supportive of me can’t be there for me during my writing career because he died of a heart attack one week after I got my dream job as a teacher because his career, actually made me believe that there was more and there was better out there in the English Literature world. Because, really, I’ve been homeless, and hungry, trying to see this dream, or whatever I’m trying to do come to pass. And really, these competitions give me the hope of a better future.

I hate reading people’s work because sometimes it’s like asking whether or not this person actually has something important to say. Because sometimes people just talk and talk and talk, and sometimes people use their voice in a way that doesn’t really makes sense because it’s like they are saying something, but really, nothing really is being said. Sometimes the truth is all that matters in fiction, or at least when it comes to group dynamics, but most people nowadays, sometimes don’t like dealing with the truth. So, here’s to the tree we’re planting, a symbol of our commitment to nurturing writing that makes you laugh, cry, smoke a cigarette, and believe in something better.

Really, I’ve only turned in one entry, so it’s unclear about the type of work that you guys do, but I would imagine that an immense amount of a voting process comes along with the workload. Maybe something like an app that keeps your voting process organized may make the voting process less stressful, or like a Microsoft Teams meeting if that was not used already. Really, I shouldn’t be saying all that, but I just felt like it would make things move more naturally.

This tree, however, doesn’t have to metaphorical. Because really, you can plant a lemon tree and I can plant a lemon tree. Because all you really have to do is take the seeds from a lemon that you have which is probably in your kitchen and let the seeds dry in a napkin or something so that you can plant in your backyard. Usually, the only types of plants my grandparents like are the plants which produce fruit. Really, if we’re talking metaphorically, my grandma would say that, it’s the types of talks with a message behind it.

They say to not meet your heroes, so I think my English Teacher dying, might be a way of preventing me from making that mistake. I mean, I get it. He has a lot of work to get done, and if I got in the way of that with some act of vindictive asking for approval, just might not seem like a good picture, like a “Good job Daniel, Keep up The Great work.” But maybe it’s only real here, where writing fiction becomes my escape into the realities that could have been, or should have been.

But I would like to formally thank you, Reedsy Judges, for improving the Reedsy community, one entry at a time, and one contest at a time. May your writing prompt creating skills continue to flourish.

      Because, really, you judge the work, but whether the metaphorical tree grows and all, is up to human nature, and all.

   Thanks For Your Work,

Reedsy Participant