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What Failure Taught Me, With a Nod To Author Markus Zusak
As part of the final in Magazine Writing, I asked my students to reflect on certain aspects of the course, including the readings, their writing, and the lessons learned, as well as their ability to construct a well-written response to a writing prompt. This year’s students were asked to reflect on writer Markus Zusak’s wonderful Ted Talk for Question #1 (Zusak is the author of the acclaimed novel, The Book Thief). I asked them to consider their own failure(s) or something that they are afraid to do that could possibly lead to failure. I got a lot of interesting answers, but most of them discussed how failure has led to…
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On Failure
We’ve all had those days. Those days where nothing—absolutely nothing—goes right. Those days when two submissions garner rejections. You ask yourself if you’re failing as a writer.The kind of day when your kid gets in trouble at school and you ask yourself how and why that could have happened. You ask yourself if you’re failing as a parent. Those days when you’ve hurt someone’s feelings unintentionally. You ask yourself if your failing as a friend, a wife, a mother, or a family member. These are the kinds of questions that can keep you awake until 3 o’clock in the morning as you ask yourself what it’s all about, anyway? I…
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“Failure Is An Option, But Fear Is Not.”
* * * I was struck by the quote above that reads: “Failure is an option, but fear is not.” Those eight words were spoken by director James Cameron during a 20-minute brilliant talk on Ted. Cameron’s reputation as a hard-nosed, determined, and often crass director leaves him open to criticism. Critics love to hate him. I happen to find the man compelling. Dana Goodyear’s profile piece on him entitled, “James Cameron: Man of Extremes,” is a solid profile of a man who understand the word perseverance. He does not take no for an answer. Within the article, Goodyear quotes him as saying, “If you set your goals ridiculously…
