A letter to Mr. John Steinbeck

Dear John,

Sorry to reply you so so late. It has been 47 years that I have received you letter. Today, I decide to pick up my pen and write again. Never thought that you will be a famous writer today. It is a pleasure to have you in my writing class back in Stanford. As I always tell you, a writer always needs to know what he wants to say, in short, what he is talking about. To write a good piece of story is to have a good story to write about. And the meaning needs to be able to transport to the readers' mind. Over these years, you have written a great many stories and they are all very useful to many people as they have been through the very hard time back in the days. As I taught you before, the most important thing is to convey your feelings and thoughts clearly through your words, which can be more convincing. A good short story is not for pleasing the readers, but grabing their attention and lure them sympathize. It is a very hard and long road ahead, don't you ever feel shame anymore. After the long journey America had been through, no one is going to tease about the poor. Be as a writer, you are ready to be starve. But the most valuable thing is the pieces been done after a lot of effort and struggle. Like you say, every time, when you start a short story, the topic freaks you out. Yes, that is why every time you got a piece done, you will feel so proud of yourself. There is a long long road ahead, stay strong and contribute more to the world.

Edith Mirrielees
May 7, 2009