On Writing and Failure: Or, On the Peculiar Perseverance Required to Endure the Life of a Writer
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-02-27 01:19:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Stephen Marche
- ISBN：1771965169
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Summary
Writing is， and always will be， an act defined by failure。 The best plan is to just get used to it。 Failure is a topic discussed in every creative writing department in the world， but this is the book every beginning writer should have on their shelf to prepare them。 Less a guide to writing and more a guide to what you need to continue existing as a writer， On Writing and Failure: Or， On the Peculiar Perseverance Required to Endure the Life of a Writer describes the defining role played by rejection in literary endeavors and contemplates failure as the essence of the writer’s life。 Along with his own history of rejection， Marche offers stories from the history of writerly failure， from Ovid’s exile and Dostoevsky’s mock execution to James Baldwin's advice just to endure， where living with the struggle and the pointlessness of writing is the point。
Reviews
Charles Michael Fischer
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Maureen Corrigan's NPR review brought me here。 Hilarious and brutal treatise on the necessity of perseverance。 Maureen Corrigan's NPR review brought me here。 Hilarious and brutal treatise on the necessity of perseverance。 。。。more
Terrance Shaw
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Back in 2013 I blogged a glowing review of a short story collection by an aspiring author。 The book， while certainly not perfect， showed promise， and I felt it was fair to offer the writer a word or two of encouragement。 Unfortunately， so far from boosting a talented newbie’s career， the review had the effect of turning them into a monster; an insufferable， swell-headed egomaniac。 For years this legend-in-their-own mind has flaunted that tiny scrap of affirmation as if it were the Nobel Prize， t Back in 2013 I blogged a glowing review of a short story collection by an aspiring author。 The book， while certainly not perfect， showed promise， and I felt it was fair to offer the writer a word or two of encouragement。 Unfortunately， so far from boosting a talented newbie’s career， the review had the effect of turning them into a monster; an insufferable， swell-headed egomaniac。 For years this legend-in-their-own mind has flaunted that tiny scrap of affirmation as if it were the Nobel Prize， trotting it out ever so often as if to say “See！ This proves I was a great writer once upon a time！” Never mind that that review was written by someone （me） who， by any conventional metric of literary success， must be considered an abject failure—or that that self-anointed “great writer” has written next to nothing ever since。 One is reminded， sadly， of a pathetic has-been （or， in this case， a barely-ever-was） cadging drinks in a dive bar based on a tenuous brush with some minor celebrity decades before。 Well， I’m certainly glad they liked the review， even though they received my plaudits largely on credit all those years ago。 Perhaps I was too hopeful in assuming they had more than one book in them。 （Many don’t。） It’s true that often， in order to persevere in this madhouse of a profession， writers have to find whatever way they can to believe in themselves: The brutal reality of the writing life is that no one will ever care about your work as much as you do—and if you aren’t passionate about your own work， how can you expect anybody else to give a damn？ Still， that young writer might have benefited from a reading of Stephen Marche’s short， engaging essay ‘On Writing and Failure or: On the Peculiar Perseverance Required to Endure the Life of a Writer。’ If nothing else， it might have given them a much-needed sense of perspective; encouragement， yes， but encouragement with a healthy does of realism。 The odds are daunting for even the most serious writers today—and a realistic set of expectations at the outset hardly helps。 As Marche point out:“Three-hundred-thousand books are published every year in the United States alone。 A few hundred， at most， could be called financial or creative successes。 The majority of books by successful writers are failures。 The majority of writers are failures。”No one wants to be regarded as a failure—even less， think of themselves as one。 No wonder the absurd lengths writers often go in order to project an image of success: Making virtues of everything from how fast they can churn out a piece of genre fluff， to the number of drab 50，000-word potboilers they’ve had traditionally published （while never reading a word of anyone else’s work）， monthly pages read on Kindle Unlimited， or the somewhat dubious distinction of once having broken onto the USA Today or New York Times best-seller lists。 （In fact， it took surprisingly few sales to land on either of those lists， and， as Marche notes， “…the marketplace doesn’t test talent。 It tests timing。”） Others make endless hay out of once having had some pithy remarks retweeted by a famous author， or spend their whole life brooding on what might have been if the respected， now-dead literary figure who once sent them an encouraging postcard would have only followed through and publically championed their cause。 “‘Might have’ is the cry of every artist who has to hustle， who has to reconcile the dreams of art with the realities of shifting marketplaces。 Writers want to be judged by what they could have written。 The world insists on judging them by the reception of what they have written。 Careers are circumstances。 Others treat them as the unfolding of an inner truth。”We dread failure， and yet we cannot escape it。 “Even in the face of massive success，” Marche says， “a little part， maybe a big part， maybe even the biggest part of the writer’s heart， dwells in failure。” And how could it be otherwise when talentless hacks can fake it till they make it， and AI-generated schlock gluts the marketplace， while genuinely gifted flesh-and-blood creatives labor in obscurity， forced to scrimp and shift until they perish in poverty？ But even in these much-troubled times of dizzyingly rapid paradigm shifts in literary culture—what Marche astutely refers to as a “period of radical turbulence” —things may be no worse on balance than they ever were。 Consider the case of Herman Melville， “whose fate was like the sick joke of some cruel god。 The better he wrote， the more he failed。” By the end of his life， the now- celebrated author of ‘Moby Dick’ was little more than a wraith on the fringes of literary life， so poor that he could not even self-publish what may have been his true masterpiece， ‘Billy Budd。’ The irony is that far-less gifted authors ended up getting the money and the temporary fame， while Melville， who died in drunken squalor and despair， is spoken of today in tones of reverent awe。 “No amount of success is a protection from the spectre of obscurity，” Marche observes。 “There’s no amulet against oblivion。”Depressing stuff， no？ Yet somehow Marche’s many anecdotes of cruel rejection， grinding poverty， brutal political oppression， mental illness， willful dissolution， and gruesome self-slaughter have the effect of making us feel a little better about our own struggles—a little more self-assured about the petty indignities we all have to put up with。 I， personally， take the Stoic’s view， accepting that failure and oblivion are my lot as a writer， in life and in death， and there’s nothing to be done about it other than altering my perceptions—learning to regard the manure life gives me as fertilizer。 What will fame or money mean a century after I’m dead anyway？ Yet， I’ll continue to write no matter the frustrations， because writing is how I make meaning in the here and now。No， Marche’s essay is not an exercise in discouragement or despair。 If anything， he lets writers know that they are not alone: Offers a healthy dose of realism to starry-eyed youth， and a knowing pat on the back to those of us who have persevered against all odds into old age。 “The condition of failure （may be） a constant in writerly life; a life” —Marche tells us— that “demands a peculiar persistence。” Yet we continue to strive to write well， “doing so for its own sake， with a vague， not particularly sensible hope that it will somehow resonate。”Enthusiastically recommended！ 。。。more
Kira L'Dante
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（fire emoji）（fire emoji）（fire emoji）
Samantha
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It's very tight and fairly short - a long essay， basically - but also exactly what I needed right now。 If you like to write things， whether you submit them or not， then it's probably what you need too。 I like the phrase "throw yourself against the door。" It's very tight and fairly short - a long essay， basically - but also exactly what I needed right now。 If you like to write things， whether you submit them or not， then it's probably what you need too。 I like the phrase "throw yourself against the door。" 。。。more
R。L。 Maizes
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A must-read for young--or old--writers。
Mariana Jimenez
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A book on writing that is not self-serving without eschewing the sublime。 Very concise， uplifting， and funny。 Learnt about a bunch of writers whose work I'd love to delve into A book on writing that is not self-serving without eschewing the sublime。 Very concise， uplifting， and funny。 Learnt about a bunch of writers whose work I'd love to delve into 。。。more
David Wineberg
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