During the week, Emily Maguire (our tutor at the NSW Writer’s Centre) sent a link to a blog by Young Adult author Nova Ren Suma’s blog, distraction 99 and a post by Sara Zarr that talked about the gap between the dream and the creating, however, I really connected with her passage about failure and I have copied a part of it below;

I’m reminded:

Without risking failure, maybe even running headlong into it, there’s no chance for discovering something new and beautiful. Without wandering off the trail that the rest of the world is trudging on, we don’t know where we can go, what we can do, what’s out there beyond our current vision.

I’m reminded that the point of creating isn’t control.
The point isn’t saving yourself from embarrassment.
The point isn’t preserving an image of yourself dear to you, and/or dear to others, or earning out your advance or gritting your teeth as you check to see if your ranking, wherever, is ticking up.

The point isn’t avoiding failure.

We can’t. It’s inevitable. Those who finish what they start persevere through it, blow gently on those embers, tend to that first love, protect the shimmering magic, in hopes of…

…Insert your hopes here.

And so I continue on my path into the unknown, there is certain failure but from those failures I hope to learn and grow.

I recently entered a children’s picture book competition, which I received feedback for, I was happy to see I had full marks for spelling and grammar, however, I had a number of areas to work on. It was good to get the advice.

And during the week I read the beginning of the first chapter for Simon goes to Spain to my class, needless to say when I got home that evening I re-edited the chapter but the exercise was definitely worth it.

Both of these evens can be seen as failures, but it is what you make of it. I am not afraid of failure, I believe in learning and building on it.

This week I am reading The Potato Factory by Bryce Courtenay, who doesn’t love Bryce Courtenay and how amazing if the Potato Factory? Thank goodness we’re not living in the Victorian times where the life expectancy of street urchins was late teens and of women late twenties!!

This week in Living in London, Emma organises a spa weekend for the girls I hope you enjoy it.