& to Really, Really Fail
Chapter Summary The chapter begins with an anecdote
about Melville, placing special emphasis on the fact that his writing was not
for everyone. The author goes to great
lengths to describe the works of Melville, as he describes how his works were truly
brilliant but before its time. With this,
the author even accuses Melville of acting outside of the scope of his
audience, as his later works did not live up to the great potential of his
earlier works. In a way, it can be
suggested that Melville had failed as a writer – he failed to entertain, to
promise, and to deliver. Melville only had
one duty as a writer. He only had to
pick up his pen and do what he had done many times over. Where did he go wrong? How is it possible to claim a great American
novel such as Moby-Dick, and then
completely abandon the once self-accepted purpose for writing?
The author discusses the
consequences of writing outside of our comfort zone, and if we tried to write
as Melville had, we would already fail twice.
In saying this, the author suggests that writers contain a great deal of
dignity – in themselves and their works – when they write. Writers will do his or her best to avoid
failure all together, thus closing themselves off great potential. The author reveals, that, in order to
succeed, you must also be ready to fail – and to fail at a grand level,
too. All in all, the author encourages
writers to set high, nearly unattainable goals.
Writers, in a way, should always work against popular opinion and
rational conventions. If writers find
his or herself on a steady stream of positives, then they are not working
against the grain near enough. Thus,
they are not risking failure nearly enough.
The author ends the chapter by suggesting that failure is a good thing,
and that at least people are paying attention to your work.
Analysis and scope While Edmundson’s
perspective on failing describes it as a manifestation of learning and
exploration, he himself fails to pull the curtain and make the final reveal:
how do we fail, exactly? In what ways do
we fail as writers, and how exactly, can that be justified? Of course, as Edmundson suggests, we try to
fail often; we only learn from our failures.
However, in order to know how to fail, writers must first understand the
ways in which they may be failing. Thus,
this essay will serve as an expansion of Edmundson’s work while zooming in on
the variety of ways in which writers fail, and more importantly, encourage
writers that failure should be embraced.
Writers have baggage: Edmundson discusses the tragedy of “unremittingly
positive” (Edmundson, 87) feedback that prevents writers from broadening their
own horizons and discovering true potential.
Moreover, he goes to great lengths in suggesting that positive reviews
are mostly always selfish in nature in that it never helps a writer improve his
methods of writing or to discover new ones.
While conventional, good reviews can stunt a writer’s growth, it is
important to note that a consecutive line of bad reviews can do the same. For writers who are seeking a developed
skillset and a career in writing, they are taught from a professional
standpoint that failure is exceptionally awful.
In the same sense, aspiring writers have someone that they look up to
for guidance – a mentor, an advisor, or professor – who enforces strict rules
for writing and fail them if the young, aspiring writer strays outside of the
specified boundaries.
Edwin
Catwall, author of Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in
the Way of True Inspiration, remarks that:
“For most of us, failure comes with
baggage – a lot of baggage – that I believe is traced directly from our days in
school. From a very early age, the
message is drilled into our heads: failure is bad; failure means that you
weren’t prepared; failure means that you slacked off – or worse! – you weren’t
smart or good enough to begin with. Thus, failure is something to be ashamed
of.” (Catwall, 13)
Significantly,
writers have to almost unlearn everything that they have been taught. While it is equally important to learn, it is
just as important for writers to believe in themselves and in their work. Perhaps each time a writer encounters writing
block, receives a marked up copy of their beloved essay, or derails from their
story in fiction writing, then it may be a great time for the writer to
celebrate himself of herself. Failure is
a path; with each one, the writer comes closer to the next greatest story or
the biggest success. Thus, a writer
cannot be his or her own worst critic; it’s important for them to unpack after
every negative experience with another critic, as well. It is important for writers to take their
work page by page.
Writers don’t know why the hell they are
writing: Even worse, sometimes writers don’t know what
the hell they are writing, either. Both
are perfectly acceptable conditions. It’s
only unacceptable for a writer to stop writing due to a small number of
exhausting encounters. Writers
experience failure is small doses, as Edmundson suggests, and it would be hard
to navigate around a world where failure is happening to everyone, everywhere. (Edmundson, 89) Unfortunately, we
cannot determine how much failure we will be subjected to, and worse, we cannot
predict how or when we will fail. With
that, it’s quite easy for a writer to lose his or her way when writing. In fact, it’s important for a writer to lose
his or her way when writing. Good
writers should resign to the fact that their first draft will not be the best
piece – a true champion’s streak isn’t plagued with perfect writing in random
spurts of inspiration; it’s writing every day and understanding that it’s not
going to be perfect. Good writers
believe in themselves and in their work, and they know that a bad day of
writing does not mean that they are a bad writer. All in all, good writers know that they can
achieve their writing goals – even if they are not clearly defined – because
they are committed to what they are doing.
Writers disconnect themselves from their calling
– and it’s their own fault: It’s acceptable for a writer to believe that they are a
writer, but they must know how to continuously improve his or her
skillset. A writer should never assume
that they are great; a writer should always want to change. The problem is that a lot of decent writers
assume that they are too great – too
great to change, too great to revise and resubmit, or too great to fail. This is the exact moment that a writer
creates distance between themselves and their dreams; this is the moment that
the writer no longer wants to pick up the pen.
A good writer should always be humble.
Regardless of skill, a writer should commit to the process more than
one’s own self. Alongside this, a writer
should not get too attached to his or her own writing. In doing so, a writer once again creates
distance – except this time, the writer creates distance between themselves and
the person who gives them constructive feedback. Potentially, their own pride could separate
them from a new beginning, a new career, or a new publication. A good writer makes a choice every day – that
choice can never be pride.
Writers like immediate gratification: In
choosing to become a writer, one must acknowledge that they are choosing to be
different. Writers are amazing by their
own example, because they preserve.
Writers preserve through countless rejections, marked-up drafts, and
lack of sleep and steady income. A
writer irreversibly fails whenever he or she believes that they are entitled to
more without exerting more work. A good
writer knows that he or she cannot get by on talent alone – they honor their
gift every day by out-working others of less ambition. Writers do not know what “no” means – they
continue writing in spite of what others believe to be true. Great writers believe in their work more than
they might believe in themselves.
“Stick to teaching,” they told her. She loved her career but felt she should do
something more with her life. Louisa May
Alcott refused to give up on her dream. Little Women sells millions every year,
and is still in print 140 years later -- unlike the name of the publisher who
told her to give up.
“Good God, I can’t publish this.” The
piece finds itself at the offices of publishers Jonathan Cape and Harrison
Smith instead, who immediately spot the talent of its author, and in 1931
propel him and his controversial, Sanctuary,
into the literary limelight. The author, William Faulkner, goes on to become
one of the most critically praised novelists of all time.
The Christopher Little Literary Agency
receives 12 publishing rejections in a row for their new client, until the
eight-year-old daughter of a Bloomsbury editor demands to read the rest of the
book. The editor agrees to publish but
advises the writer to get a day job since she has little chance of making money
in children’s books. Yet Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by
J.K. Rowling spawns a series where the last four novels consecutively set
records as the fastest-selling books in history, on both sides of the Atlantic,
with combined sales of 450 million. (“Best-Sellers Initially Rejected”)
All in all, great writers will persist and choose time and time again to continue writing. A great writer's only fixed goal should be to continue writing. When writers are doing something that they love, then that’s the only
thing that they know to be true. Thus, they persevere.
Conclusion and personal statement: I
chose Edmundson’s chapter To Fail because
I needed lessons. I, like many other
beginning writers, do not know how to fail. My writing is personal to me. After spending hours with one document and a
glass of wine, I’ve already acquainted myself with my work. I adore it, in a way, so why would I want to
choose something different? Ideally,
this chapter challenges the writer to be different,
and in the world of writing, this simply means that one should accept
criticisms without allowing it to personally define them. I chose to expand on Edmundon’s perspective
on failure, because he does define
failure but never directly encourages the writer to go out into the world and
write the next greatest wonder – and then fail at doing so. In the same way that it is encouraged to
revise and resubmit, it is acceptable to continue changing. If writers do not fail, then they are not
encouraged to change.
Works Cited
Catwall,
Edwin. Creativity, Inc. Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration. Random House,
2015. Print.
Edmundson,
Mark. Why Write?: A Master Class on How to Write and Why It Matters. Bloomsbury USA, 2016. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment