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Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

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Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » The Writing Life » Page 76

The Writing Life

Fail Better

By Bob Hostetleron September 20, 2017
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Writing is hard. Writing for publication is even harder. And writing to be read and re-read is a Sisyphean task (go ahead, look it up; I’ll wait).

So it is no wonder that Samuel Beckett’s line from his novel, Worstward Ho, has been adopted not only by athletes (they are tattooed on Stanislas Wawrinka’s arm) and billionaires (Richard Branson cited the quote in an article about his airline’s future) but also by many writers.

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”[1]

For Beckett’s words to become a motivational mantra is deliciously ironic, considering his bleak oeuvre. But they nonetheless supply great wisdom for writers. Because success (at least as many define it) is both elusive and fleeting.

My first paid article appeared in a Christian teen magazine when I was fifteen years old (I showed my older brother the $5 check and he shook his head. “There goes your amateur status.” And he was right; ever since, I’ve been ineligible for the writing event in the Olympics). I was so proud of that article, then. I look at it now with amazement and horror. Wow.

My first book was published around my thirty-fourth birthday. I’m still proud of it, but I was so happy to be given the opportunity to correct, revise, and update it for a new edition after nineteen years and 300,000 copies.

Have you ever read something you wrote just last year without some dismay? Without shaking your head at how much better it could have—should have—been? It can be disconcerting to see how poor your prose (or poetry) was just a little while ago, but that doesn’t mean you’re a poor writer. It might mean you’re learning. You’re growing. You may still be failing, but you’re failing better.

That, I suggest, should be the goal. Year by year, day by day.

Every article, blog post, and book I’ve ever written is a failure. It wasn’t good enough. It didn’t say exactly what I wanted to say. It didn’t sell well enough. I look at other authors’ writings with admiration, even envy, but I know all too well the struggle that goes into my own work and the dissatisfaction that comes out of it. But no matter. I keep at it. I keep trying. I keep failing. And then I try again, fail again, and hope to fail better the next time.

 

[1] Samuel Beckett, Nohow On: Company, Ill Seen Ill Said, Worstward Ho: Three Novels (New York: Grove Press, 1980), 85.

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Category: Inspiration, The Writing LifeTag: Failure, Inspiration, The Writing Life

Vocabulary Word of the Day: Bifurcation

By Dan Balowon September 19, 2017
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Some words are specific to a certain field of endeavor and some are flexible, used to describe something in a variety of arenas. One such word is our vocabulary word of the day: bifurcation. Simply, it involves splitting something into two distinct parts. The prefix “bi” indicates two, so it is simple to remember the number of parts involved. It is used in general science, medicine, law, …

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Category: Book Business, Conferences, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, The Writing Life, Writers Conference

God Does Not Need Your Book

By Dan Balowon September 5, 2017
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The creator of everything, who spoke things into existence, who threw the planets across the solar system, tossed solar systems around the galaxy and blew galaxies across the universe like so many dandelion seeds, does not need anything. God does not need you to serve him in any way. He does not need your money. Or your prayers. God does not need your worship. Or your speaking ministry. God …

Read moreGod Does Not Need Your Book
Category: The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Faith, The Writing Life, Theology

A Writer’s Top 6 Productivity Practices

By Bob Hostetleron August 30, 2017
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I’ve met fifty book deadlines, never missing one (though I have renegotiated a few), and many more article deadlines. These days, as a writer, editor, and agent, I have even more tasks, schedules, and details to juggle than ever before. Happily, I’ve installed a handful of productivity practices that aid my feeble mind and fragile memory. Here are six that I find the most helpful: Working ahead …

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Category: Technology, The Writing LifeTag: Productivity, Technology, The Writing Life

Find More Writing Time – Use Your Agent

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 24, 2017
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Have you ever been to a “perfect” wedding? You may think so, but chances are, even if you weren’t aware of it, procedures went wrong. Why is it hard to plan and execute a wedding? Because we don’t practice to perfection. So, many people hire wedding planners to take care of details for them. A similar profession? The interior decorator. Though my home was likely among the more modest …

Read moreFind More Writing Time – Use Your Agent
Category: Agents, The Writing LifeTag: Agents, The Writing Life

Every Book is a How-To

By Bob Hostetleron August 23, 2017
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C.S. Lewis famously said, “We read to know we’re not alone.” I think that is true. But I have long subscribed to a similar statement that I see as sort of a corollary to “Lewis’s Law.” It is this: No one reads about other people. We read only about ourselves. Feel free to quote me. And send me royalties. But you might say, “How can that be, Bob? I read a lot of romance novels. They’re fiction. …

Read moreEvery Book is a How-To
Category: Craft, The Writing LifeTag: readers, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Deadlines Born – Deadlines Made

By Steve Laubeon August 21, 2017
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Deadlines. The bane of every writer’s existence. “A necessary evil.” “My nemesis.” I talked to an author who changed the internal time clock on his computer just so he could have three extra hours, claiming he was writing on the West coast (USA) instead of where his office was (East coast USA). Writing Without a Deadline (Deadlines Born) Not everyone, however, is …

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Category: Get Published, The Writing LifeTag: Deadlines, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life

Writing Thoughtful Books

By Dan Balowon August 15, 2017
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There has always been a hierarchy in fiction distinguishing “literary” from “popular” books, with lines drawn between both topics and reading levels.  Authors of each are different, somewhat like actors who work on stage versus those who work on screen. Comparisons of literary vs. popular and stage vs. screen are often done in a derogatory manner. Christian authors describing non-fiction might use …

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Category: Art, Faith, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Faith, fiction, Nonfiction, Theology

Write Like You Brush Your Teeth

By Bob Hostetleron August 9, 2017
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I listen regularly to a half-dozen podcasts. One of them recently talked about how valuable “systems” are in making life run more smoothly. The podcast host said that making something a habit is the simplest but also one of the most effective “systems” a person can install in his or her life, because it eliminates the need for decision-making. For example, he said, did you decide to brush your …

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Category: Get Published, The Writing LifeTag: Encouragement, Get Published, The Writing Life

Write Like Baseball

By Bob Hostetleron July 26, 2017
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Did you know there are nine ways for a batter to reach first base in the game of baseball? A few are obvious, of course. The batter could get a hit. Or a walk. Or even be hit by a pitch. But those are not the only options. The batter could reach on a fielding error. Or hit into a fielder’s choice, a play in which the fielder could throw him out at first but instead chooses to throw to another …

Read moreWrite Like Baseball
Category: Get Published, The Writing LifeTag: Get Published, The Writing Life
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