My drafted apology for a shared story that went nowhere is still unsent

I wrote a letter saying I was sorry for how our co-written book idea tanked. Lots of folks think you must apologize when a creative thing bombs. I did not send it because pushing for a sorry would have made us both feel worse. Now I see that keeping quiet let us stay friends and try new stuff later.

4 comments

4 Comments

tyler2373mo ago

A whole letter you never sent is wild to me.

charles_mitchell3mo ago

Heard a podcast recently that talked about this exact thing. The host said writing a letter you never send is a super common way people process big feelings. It's like getting the thoughts out of your head makes them easier to handle. That act of writing it all down is the whole point for a lot of folks, not sending it. Makes total sense when you think about it. Kind of a raw, human thing to do.

mary_west2mo ago

Ever have a draft so cringe you can't even read it back? I wrote a full apology for a group project that died, and reading it now feels like watching a bad movie where I'm the main character who tries WAY too hard.

angela5873mo ago

What's worse than writing a letter you never send? I've got a whole folder on my laptop full of those things. Most of them are me saying sorry for getting too excited about ideas that went nowhere, like that time I planned a podcast about left socks. Writing it all down lets me stop going over the same stuff in my head, which really helps. But actually sending it would just make things weird, so the folder is where they live. It's a free way to sort your feelings without dragging someone else into it.