Stan Wawrinka and Failing Better
A writer works to perfect their art or craft and tries to share it with the world, only to often meet with rejection or indifference. The attempt can be a failure. We can feel like losers. But tennis player Stan Wawrinka has an interesting perspective on failure. What he had to say is my quote of the week.
Might and Main Monday: Outlook on Failure
The other day I was researching famous American inventors and came across this quote about failure from Thomas Edison. It struck me as perfect for a writer. We often submit our work for publication only to be rejected again and again. In other words, we fail all of the time. If we’re experienced, we get better at not taking the sting of rejection so personally. In fact, we can use the failures to change and better our writing. We can submit different drafts, different pieces. Edison apparently had mastered this…
Failure: Fundamental to the Writing Life
In an interview in Novel Voices, author Richard Bausch talks about how emerging writers must accept failure as a destiny. Rejection stings. We often feel as if we are the lone person whose work is rejected. But it’s a much more universal and integral experience than that, so much so that Bausch believes it’s imperative writers make it a part of their life outlook. In the interview, he says, “If you’re not scared, there’s something wrong with you. Your talent will be tested, and you have to be willing to…
