Mmm... today I'm seeing some shudders amongst those not-quite-so-new novelists among you.
For very. Very. Good reason.
Because failing sucks.
Really does.
And I'd be incredibly sympathetic except for a tiny little insignificant little truth that we vets know about and you don't. Stop giggling vets. I'm going to spoil your fun and tell them.
Brace yourselves, kids, it's a big one.
There is no such thing as a failed book.
You know those half finished works in progress hidden under your beds and in boxes and drawers? Nope. They're not failures. Not even the terrible ones.
Okay new kids, you can stop gaping. It's really true. Ask anyone who've been in the game for a while.
The reason for this is twofold:
Firstly, a failed book is only a failed book once you've given up on a story for ever. And I guarantee that you won't. The reason why I know is because of the second reason why failed books don't exist.
Every new project you start is a lesson in what works and what doesn't. So yeah. Some of your old stories will have sucked. But never all of it. Maybe there's an awesome character waiting to come to life. Or the basic premise was AMAZING but you didn't have the chops to pull it off.
Guess what. You're learning. Every time you take on a new story, you're learning. And if you have an open mind to what critique partners have to say... If you pay attention to the lessons other writers learnt (blogs are brilliant sources of this sort of information, by the way)... Guess what. You will learn even faster.
And once you have the chops, you have three choices. You can use everything you've learnt up to this point and write something completely different. Or you can go back to one of the previously imagined failed manuscripts. There, you can either rewrite the whole thing using your mad new writing skills, or you can recycle everything you can use and start something better with it.
So I'm asking you nicely. Please please stop being afraid of failing. Try being excited about learning instead. And if you have to give up on a project, don't get rid of it. Don't forget about it. Because something inside might just be what gives you a bestseller idea.
How have you used knowledge gained in "failed" writing projects?
You bet you can go back to those old manuscripts and rewrite them! That's what I did.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome!
DeleteI'm also slowly circling back to the stories I've started on before Doorways, seeing if I want to redo them or what.
Mostly, though, I have to go by memory. Because my drafts have historically had a terrible way of being lost.
Ugh! You mentioned the-word-which-shall-not-be-said! :)
ReplyDelete*grimace* Sorry!
DeleteOne hundred and ten percent agree--the only failed book is one you give up on completely!
ReplyDeleteI shelved my first novel attempt when I realized I was being too nice to my characters. Although they were is a daunting situation, it was all lovey-dovey kumbayah around the campfire, and no tension between them. The lesson? Your characters are there for your sadistic amusement, so torture them!
ReplyDeleteLol that's a great bit of advice. ;-)
DeleteI always tell my kids 'the only failure is a failure to try.' Totally agree we have to see it all as a learning process however hard that might sometimes be!
ReplyDeleteYeah that's true.
DeleteBut I noticed that seeing lessons rather than failures really makes life in general a lot better to live.
My 2012 Nano Gold was a flop but it then turned me to a new project called Escaping Wonderland. So failure can lead to better things.
ReplyDeleteSo really, it wasn't a flop at all...
DeleteThanks for posting this. I finished my first draft yesterday and was happy for 15 minutes until the fear of failing set in. I love the hopeful attitude of this post.Simply Sarah
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing the draft!
DeleteOne bit of advice from a veteran. Leave it alone now, for a month or so before editing.
Trust me.
You are correct, even from my "failed" MS I've learned and used that knowledge and parts of the story transformed into something else in another story. Failure is when you stop learning, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteNo question about it.
DeleteAbsolutely right, Misha....great post and awesome advice. Nothing should ever be lost on our writing journey and we can take away lessons even from the worst thing we've ever done.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it. :-)
DeleteOne thing I've learned is to move on and not fret over the time and the energy I put into a piece. That time and energy was part of the learning I had to do. The piece failed, but I didn't.
ReplyDeleteLoved the post!
Yeah if we worried about the time and energy "lost" all the time, no one would ever write.
DeleteA group of inventors were working on a new superglue. The only problem was it wasn't very strong, but it seemed to hold its stickiness well. They had inadvertently invented the sticky note!
ReplyDeleteGreat story! Thanks for sharing. :-D
DeleteWait, what (closes open jaw)...this is precisely the inspiration I needed...thank you!
ReplyDeleteGlad you got it, then. ;-)
DeleteMisha, this is FANTASTIC advice and SO TRUE! I love how you keep the positive in this and I couldn't agree more!
ReplyDeleteEvery new project we work on stems from something valuable we have learned from previous projects... And you are so right... We SHOULD be excited about learning.... Me give up on it ... A stagnant mind will just wither and decay!
Definitely. The only way to keep it strong is to keep learning and working with it.
DeleteAwesome advice! Very, very true. All writing is a learning process. :)
ReplyDeleteI feel like this post was written for me. I always have ideas rattling around in my skull and projects that are half-finished. *Sighs* time to get back in the saddle...
ReplyDeleteI know you can do it. :-)
DeleteGreat advice, congrats about your book! And, happy to see you again via the A-Z blogging challenge. My theme is the Enneagram again. This time, I'm matching people up and seeing how they play off of one another.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'll definitely be by to check out your blog. Last year was super-interesting.
DeleteWhat a GREAT way of re-framing the disappointment of being rejected. And it's great 'cause it's all true. Rock on, Misha, and keep 'em coming!
ReplyDeleteSome Dark Romantic
Glad you enjoy the posts, Mina. ;-)
DeleteI'm currently writing my first book. I'm also blogging about it so it was a pleasant surprise to find your blog. It's nice to know other writers have the same problems. I've complete a few books before and they've been rejected for one reason or the other. The book I'm writing now feels like the one that will get published and I'm putting my all into it to make sure it is.
ReplyDeleteHey Wade! Pleased to meet you. Knowing that you're not suffering alone is definitely one of the good things about blogging.
DeleteAlso, sounds like you have a winning attitude. Don't give up!
Hi Misha,
ReplyDeleteActually, I have no fear of failure. I have fear of success. Thus that can keep you in your uncomfortable comfort zone. An informative and thoughtful posting, Misha.
Gary
You know, part of me fears success as well. I spend so much time working towards it that I don't know what will happen once I reach that point.
DeleteI'm sort of like a Jack Russel catching tires, I guess. Except I'm really wanting to catch one so I can see what I'll do with it.
Hi Misha, Your perspective on failure is true of every area of life. Even if you do stick it away in a draw, it has laid a foundation for something else. You have grown through the experience somehow. It is good to realize that failure isn't failure unless you allow it to be. Good post. Thanks. God bless, Maria from Delight Directed Living
ReplyDeleteGlad you appreciated my post, Maria, and I agree that my view on failure applies to life in general.
DeleteIn fact, I took this lesson from life first before applying it to my writing.
Nothing in this life is a mistake, useless, or a waste if it gets us to where we are now and we learn from it. I've permanently shelved the first series I wrote about my Atlantic City characters, but I've stayed with the characters for over 21 years now and simply have used them in other books, as I've matured as a writer. I did get some good storylines and new characters out of that series, which I'll be using in other books.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're in for a very long term project. :-D
DeleteReally good reminder. How can any writing be a failure? That's like saying practicing the piano is a failure if it's not played perfectly every time. I think the problem comes in confusing writing with publishing with sales. All 3 different things.
ReplyDeleteExactly. And if that was the way people looked at playing piano, most kids would be afraid to even practice.
DeleteWas thinking about this today- failure, I mean. It is defeating at first, but it also makes us better in the long run. I have a manuscript I shelved but not the basic premise... and one day in the not-so-distant future, I know I'll come back to it.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. A trunked book is never really a failure.
Yeah I have a story like that too. Where the original draft is gone, but the premise stayed.
DeleteSo true! I've had scene ideas that didn't work elsewhere suddenly fit in perfectly with a new piece, or even inspire an entirely new piece. And, as I often say, all writing is writing. Whatever you've written, like you said, is practice. It's experience you've just gained. Consider it forward progress.
ReplyDeleteShannon at The Warrior Muse
You are so the poster girl for this post. ;-)
DeleteI have quite a few of those, er, learning experiences to my name.
ReplyDeleteGreat! One day, you'll hit on the right idea and will be able to follow through because of everything you've learnt.
DeleteWell I have always believed in everything being a life experience, good or bad ;)
ReplyDeleteSame here.
DeleteThis is excellent advice. Practise makes perfect. That, and learning the skills that can teach us how to do a better job.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, both are important and somewhat inter-lacing.
DeleteFantastic post. I learn a lot through each project I write, even if it ends up in a drawer or hard drive.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Same here.
DeleteThat F word, failure, is almost as bad as the R word, rejection! I too have some unpublished completed and partly completed books on the file in my computer. They may stay there forever or one day I may get the inspiration to get them back out there again.
ReplyDeleteRosalind Adam is Writing in the Rain
Yeah... these days, it's not impossible to get unpublished works out.
DeleteJust a bit of elbow-grease and you're there. :-)
Such great things to remember! Our stories continue to evolve, thus keeping them alive. I've learned a lot from the mistakes of my first book, helping me to grow as a writer. That's one of the great things with self-publishing...you can go back and fix/change things...nothing is "final."
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. I'm learning this nothing is final truth all over again. I thought my book was done, but now it's just going through everything again before I can publish it.
DeleteMisha, I really enjoyed this post. It is a reminder that we don't need to give up on any idea. We can open up new paths to create new ideas based on the original one. The mind is fascinating. Imagination is boundless.
ReplyDeleteSo true. The only limits to the imagination is its owner. :-D
DeleteGreat post Misha!
ReplyDeleteYou've given me a different perspective on the topic.
Dankie vir die "vrot kaas" kommentaar wat jy op my F-pos gelaat het. Baie slim antwoord want die woord klink soos 'n kombinasie van Afrikaans en Frankryk... wel, net 'n bietjie...
Writer In Transit
Hahaha dankie. :-D
DeleteDit was ook 'n sinspeling op die Franse woord "fromage" wat kaas beteken.
I love your title - now I have that adorable "King and I" song going through my head! Thanks for all the tips on writing and good luck with Etopia! :-)
ReplyDeleteHahaha I also got it in my head the moment I wrote the title. :-D
Delete