Don’t let negative responses to your work silence you.

Courtesy picjumbo_com via pixabay.com

About three months ago, I took down a piece of my writing that I posted on Medium about 5 years ago. It was a piece I had written well before that, but decided to add it to my online collection of creative pieces. It’s my prerogative, as I am the author. It is my voice.

I took it down because a ghost from my past found my Medium account and decided to comment on said piece. That ghost decided the piece must’ve been about them.

I find it a bit odd that out of the 54 pieces I have posted over the years, someone was able to sift through all of that to find one piece they thought might be about them. Needless to say, they left a rather unsavoury response. I won’t get into the specifics. I’m not here to out anyone publicly.

Instead of engaging, I decided to take it down because I had no desire to have that response attached to my platform.

As a side note, I never use names. I also never use enough explicit details that would reveal a particular person with absolute certainty in any piece that I write.

That’s not why I write. I’m not here to stick it to anyone. I’m here to write from my heart. My experiences. My lens.

I am a creative writer. This is not an autobiographical endeavor that includes real people from my life. If it was, I’d create a separate account and, at the very least, request permission from specific subjects before using their names.

My writing and posting of said article on Medium was not an error. Taking it down was.

I own my voice. I own my work. I will not be silenced by those who take issue with my written word.

I do know that once I’ve written and posted, I cannot control how it’s received. That’s actually a beautiful thing. A gift. Good or bad.

All art beckons reaction.

My mistake was removing the post. Just like it’s my prerogative to write, it is the outside world’s prerogative to respond, if they feel compelled to.

I shall never allow anyone to censor my creative endeavors again.

Much love to those who take the time to read my work. :)