Failure is Not An Option

I’m reading Sarah J. Maas’s “Throne of Glass,” because one of my kiddos asked me to. I’m about a third of the way through the first book.

For the protagonist, Calaena Sardothien, failure in the battle to become the King’s assassin is not an option. She cannot return to Endovier where she served as a shackled slave working in a dark, filthy mine.

She couldn’t fathom being forced back to that. That was no life.

Winning, for her, is the only viable choice.

I can only guess that she ends up not losing, since multiple books follow this first one.

I’m not writing to offer a book review here.

Rather, the point I’m making is: what has been said isn’t far removed from where we are or how we live our lives.

This protagonist is a teenager, and this book’s main audience is young adult. However, I think the message applies to a much broader audience. Maybe, most of us.

Trying to be first or being right isn’t always the most important.

That certainly has its place. When participating in a competition,

engaging in a formal debate,

or hanging out with fellow philosophers.

Even then, it’s highly dubious.

When in doubt, ask those who have made competition their life priority what sort of toll that has taken on their lives, in their relationships, and in their communities.

Here’s the rub for me personally, at least where writing is concerned.

Studying and honing my fiction-writing skills is an ongoing process.

It is something I will continue to do and improve with time and practice.

Comparing my writing with that of others is useless.

Actually, it has been confusing, discouraging, and fruitless.

Writers differ in writing style inasmuch as visual artists and musicians vary in their presentations. My writing is no exception. It’s different from anything out there.

Few adult fiction novels fall under magical realism. And the pool of those who do what I’m doing narrows to just me.

What I am doing is unique.

That’s not so bad, except that there’s no projected profit I can offer any agent or publisher for the success of the books based on novels sales like mine. No comparisons can be made.

That doesn’t change the fact that what I have to share is significant. People need to hear and see what I have to impart and share.

So, forget about rising to the very top of the highest rung of writers or proclaiming to be right. I’m sharing stories that will help bring us closer as a community of people who have experienced or seen suffering, pain, and difficulties and show how love and hope exist in real, tangible ways.