Words Worth Sharing by Jeanette Martin

Words Worth Sharing by Jeanette Martin

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Words Worth Sharing by Jeanette Martin
Words Worth Sharing by Jeanette Martin
Readers need you, so don't quit writing yet

Readers need you, so don't quit writing yet

How an author's response to my fan letter propelled me into writing

Jeanette Martin's avatar
Jeanette Martin
Jul 09, 2024
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Words Worth Sharing by Jeanette Martin
Words Worth Sharing by Jeanette Martin
Readers need you, so don't quit writing yet
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person sitting on stack of books while reading
Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

I once wrote a fan letter to a writer-hero. The marvel is that I got a response.

The writer was Sir Laurens van der Post, a South African author, conservationist, and philosopher.

He would have been 83 at the time, seven years before his death.

I’d read many of his novels, and his work moved me.

I wanted to let him know.

I received his reply.

I cannot begin to answer you properly but I would hate you to think that its arrival was casual or anything but enormously gratifying and helpful…and I shall keep your letter and read it again from time to time.

His letter created an even deeper bond with me.

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