Why you should fail

By Pamela

No one brings home a report card eager to show Mom and Dad a bad grade. No one puts in hard work only to hope it doesn't pay off. No one shows up expecting to quit. No one likes to fail.

But as writers, we have to expect to fail.

To fail means we've put forth the effort to accomplish something just out of reach. To fail means we've attempted a feat only to fall short. This time. Even if we didn't get an agent or didn't get a publishing deal or didn't win the award for best debut novel, in that failure is the attempt and the realization that next time the outcome might be different.

If you have 12 minutes--maybe not today but maybe in the near future--you should watch Markus Zusak talk here about his brushes with failure, as an 8-year-old and again as a 28-year-old. (It's listed as The Failurist on the bottom of his blog or you might find it on YouTube.)

What we glean from his words--and the words of other failurists such as Thomas Edison and Winston Churchill--is that quitting is the only downside of falling short. When your short story gets rejected or your early draft of your novel doesn't get the praise you feel it deserves, choosing an easier path doesn't mean your life will be better. It just means you've decide to pursue that which is easier. What's safer and gentler on the ego. What will cause you the least amount of stress yet possibly result in a lower level of satisfaction.

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." ― Thomas Edison

But eventually he found more than one way that DID work. Call it a light-bulb moment, if you will.

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”― Winston Churchill

But it's hard to not lose your enthusiasm, especially if others around you seem to have an easier go of it. Perhaps you write and rewrite, only to get rejection after rejection. Chances are your writing isn't the problem. You just need to find the right story. Or the right character to tell your story. Make sure you have beta readers you trust to tell you the truth (that's not somehow influenced by their own failures) and listen to constructive criticism.

“Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door. ” ― Coco Chanel

Perhaps you also need to take a class or attend a workshop or seminar to help you work on craft. You can't transform the wall into a door without the proper tools. Figure out what might be lacking in your skill set and work to improve upon it.

Plenty of writers--if not all GOOD writers--have experienced rejection. And we can all be thankful they didn't quit. Be thankful you're not a quitter, either. Learn from failing and fail less next time.  

Richardson Reads One Book: Markus Zusak

By Julie

Each year, we here at What Women Write attend the Richardson Reads One Book event as a group--whoever is available, usually most if not all of us! We were super excited to learn that the 2013 book was The Book Thief, and that Markus Zusak would be the special guest! Several of us had already read and loved the book.

Here's a quick run-down:

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.
Susan, Pamela and I (and eventually, Elizabeth, after a prior obligation with her kiddos), along with Susan's daughter and a friend of Pamela, met up last night for a delightful evening listening to Zusak speak about writing and reading and The Book Thief.

We also took the obligatory group shot. By the time we got through the line (which is always HUGE at Richardson Reads One Book because they do such a fabulous job choosing the author and promoting the event), I think everyone was tired, including the author. After doing my own book talks and signing events for the last seven months, I now have a huge appreciation for authors who tour almost nonstop, sometimes for years, as Zusak has done with The Book Thief due to its immense popularity and success! How do they keep up the smile and small talk and personal level of attention for so long? At any rate, we all, including Zusak, joked about making us look good--thus the arty effects, which I assure you were completely necessary. :)

I knew it was my turn to blog, so I jotted a few notes to share with you.

• We loved hearing the story of Zusak's first few events after his debut in Australia years ago. It was heartening to hear that even a world class author like this had to more or less bribe the high school rugby team he coached to come to his launch so it wouldn't be just him and the bookseller. Look at him now--more than a thousand rabid fans attended this event!
• He talked a lot about story. He started by sharing a funny family anecdote, then talked about what made it work for the audience. These are lessons that can be applied to writing, public speaking, or any situation where you need to tell a story your audience connects with.
• It's yours. In this case, it was his family's story.
• The details are what makes your story believable. (For instance, knowing not only what color a jacket is, but what's inside the pockets.) If you know the details, you are the expert. You are the owner. People believe people who know the details.
• You've told it again and again. You know it inside out. (And in the case of novel writing, you've been willing to fail and fail again as needed until you get it right.)
• The best moment in a story isn't the expected, but the unexpected.

The biggest point of his talk, and also, as he shared, the main theme of The Book Thief,  was that:

Stories make us who we are.

What a great reminder.

Want to write a book?

What are your stories? 

Want to do something else innovative or creative?

What are your stories? 

How do your stories make you who you are?

If you haven't read The Book Thief yet, we suggest you run right out and find a copy and devour it (as we are sure you will) before the movie comes out in November!