Overcoming Nihilism as a Creative

Gifted Underachievers · Oct 16, 2025 · 18m

In the act of sending out a short story to yet more literary journals. Gifted Underachiever James is hit by the thought, “Why bother?”

Is this the first sign of a burgeoning nihilism? Sort of, but not really. In fact, it is James feeling like literary magazines are becoming a pointless exercise. He’s met mostly by rejection, often from young people at a college MFA program. But even when the hoped-for acceptance arrives, the readership is small, pay nonexistent, and there is a lack of forward momentum.

Unfortunately, creatives of all disciplines face gatekeepers and the stench of frequent…