The Beauty of Failing | Going Back to The Basics of Writing + from the archives

 

101 Writing Basics | part 4  

The Beauty of Failing | Going Back to The Basics of Writing 

101 Writing Basics | part 4  

I am writing this coming after a day (honestly weeks) of failure and struggle. Sometimes you try to do things and you have these big goals and dreams and plans and then life knocks you upside the head and you are left crying on the floor (or in my case, in my room). I hate failure with a fiery passion. I talked about this a little in my newsletter a little bit ago. Failing is my least favorite thing and I always try to avoid it at all costs. It’s hard for me to fail. 

So it’s kinda ironic after all this failure to be here writing to you about the beauty of failing. Isn’t that going against everything I just said? It is. Failing can be hard but it can also be beautiful. Think of a baby taking its first steps. They will be wobbly and they may fall but it’s still beautiful and an accomplishment that will lead them to better walking and later running. Writing is a bit like that too. No one starts out perfect nor do I think any of us become perfect. We just get better and better the more we practice and the more time goes on. I know I’m probably giving my poor perfectionist friends a hard time because perfection is the goal (talking as a fellow perfectionist myself but I’m trying to stop myself and welcome failure. I know, weird right?). Let me say this, you will never be perfect at writing. *gasps in horror* But you will get better and better and if you truly take this on and practice and fail then one day you may become someone’s FAVORITE author. That has nothing to do with “perfect” but everything to do with a good story and writer which is something that takes time and practice. 

Now I do believe there are people born with a gift to tell stories. Maybe stories come easier to them but even they still need to practice, fail and grow in their abilities.

Now why do I keep saying that failure is beautiful? It can be beautiful in that you are learning and growing. Maybe in a time of trying and failing God is taking you on a journey to get better and strengthen you and make you into the person (the writer) God made you to be. It can be beautiful in that no matter how many times you fail or get knocked down you keep getting up and you don’t give up. That can be inspiring and can help you grow and set you up for greater things. 

You need to practice. By practicing you are growing your craft and abilities. How does a world renown singer become successful? By practicing and practicing and not giving up. They sing and do vocal warmups and take care of their body. We as creatives—wheather that is writing or dancing or singing or whatever it is you do—need to do the same thing. We need to be practicing and growing in our craft. 

Write! If you are a writer you must write! Write stories. Write short stories and flash fiction and poems and novels. Write. Not all of your stories may be good. Not all of your stories will be published. Not all of your stories will have good grammar (*hides old manuscripts away*). You may fail. You may write a terrible story. You may forget that you started your novel in first person and halfway through are writing in third. *raises hand in agreement* That’s okay! This can be a time of learning and growing. It can be a time to try new things. It can be a time to follow after the Lord and what He wants you to write. 

Who knows, maybe you will write an incredible story. Maybe you will write a story that changes someone’s life. Maybe you will write a story that changes your life. Maybe you’ll just be obedient to God and what He wants you to write. Isn’t that worth it? Isn’t that worth all the mistakes you may make in the process? Isn’t it worth it? 

I hope it’s worth it for you friend. Failing really can be beautiful. Yes, it can be hard but it can push you to grow and become better in your writing and the journey God is taking you on and the story He is writing for you. 

Just think, God is writing your story right now. It would be quite a boring story if the character got everything they wanted instantly and if they never grew or had a plot twist or two thrown in their way. So when failure comes and hard times happen just think “It’s for the plot of the amazing story God is writing for you”. XD 

From The Archives 

Sharing something embarrassing with you 

For fun, I thought I’d share a portion from one of my earliest short stories unedited (meaning there are lots of typos, grammar issues, and embarrassing spelling problems). I laughed out loud when I saw what I wrote and thought you may like seeing my early blunders as a writer. Also for some reason I never gave either character from this short story a name. Why? I don’t know. 😂 

Please feel free to laugh along with me!

Because this is hard for me to read and also I misspelled horse and heard *smacks head* If the dates are right, I wrote this at sixteen. Sixteen and I misspelled horse. 😳 *hides* the writing is so choppy and the sentences are all so short. 🤣 I shall rewrite this just slightly. (This is again unedited and not at all perfect or good but you can see the difference in my writing from then to now. It’ll also be much better when the two characters have names I can reference. It’s kinda hard writing a story without character names, lol.) 

__________

He found her. 

    Right in front of her is a Red Knight, those terrible men who spread their terror throughout the lands. The men who killed and enslaved her people and forced them to flee into the woods she now finds herself trapped in. 

    The knight’s armor gilts in the evening light. His red cape flows behind him like a stream of crimson blood. The sound of his sword scraping free from its sheath sends goosebumps down her arms. With that sword he will not hesitate to take her life.

    He raises the sword high into the air. 

    Time seems to stop for just a single moment long enough for them to make eye contact, his icy blue to her warm brown. 

    Whoosh 

    Blinding light fills the woods. In a moment the knight is thrown away from her by some invisible force. He groans on the ground and feebly tries to get up but the weight of his armor keeps him down. That or whatever force knocked him down is keeping him pinned to the ground. The knight’s horse races away leaving him stranded in the woods. Stranded and lost just like she is.

    She stands frozen in place, staring at the Red Knight defenseless on the ground. What just happened? 

__________

One day I might try and rewrite this short story but for now it’ll stay lost in the archives. Also, for fun, do you want to name the two leading characters? So far it’s a nameless girl and a nameless red knight. The main character is a girl who is hiding in the woods from the evil that is taking over the land. She is on the shy, introverted side. Then there is the red knight, who is hunting her and is her enemy and possible love interest??? From what I wrote in high school, he seems to be the more broody rule-follower type. They are also love interests. Why? Enemies to lovers sounded fun to write about. 😂 So if you want to help me name the characters or even the title of this story (I originally titled it Against and I don’t think I like that title) I would love the help! 

Edit: As I’m working on this post I have so many ideas for this story now! Lol! 

I’ll chat with you all more NEXT WEEK! Don’t forget to check out the previous posts in this Blog series: 

• Part 1 | https://fablerosemc.blogspot.com/2024/06/i-want-to-help-you-going-back-to-basics.html
• Part 2 | https://fablerosemc.blogspot.com/2024/07/five-w-one-h-going-back-to-basics-of.html

• Part 3 | https://fablerosemc.blogspot.com/2024/07/what-is-5w-1h-method-aka-six-basics-of.html