Refuse to Accept Failure #WritingCommunity

I have been thinking about what it means to accept failure in today’s world. We hear stories of people who failed at their business ventures, failed in their marriage, failed to succeed with a challenge or adventure. And we hear about the “failed writer.” But what exactly does that mean? What is failure, and who determines it? I heard somewhere that a failed author is one who has sold less than 10,000 books. Well then, that would be me. And what about freelance writers and journalists? Are they failures if they don’t earn a required threshold of money for their writing and their investigations? I don’t know.

All I do know is that I refuse to accept failure in my career. I have been working as a freelance writer for almost ten years now, and so far, I have not earned anywhere near a living wage. Some months I might earn a few hundred pounds for some articles, other months I sell nothing at all. And my lack of book sales is just ridiculous. I know that I am a good writer. I know that my stories should be told, and that people do enjoy reading them. My problem is making people aware of those stories and books that I write. I don’t have a vibrant personality. I am not the type of person to tell everyone I meet that I have published novels. I do not light up a room and command attention when I enter it. Most of the time I am invisible in a crowd. But I am still a writer. And I refuse to give up. Who is with me?  

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What Shall I Write Today?

I am late posting on the blog this week, and there are a few reasons for it. The main one is that I simply didn’t know what to write. I could very easily try and promote one of my novels or my Redcliffe series, but I’m bored of that. This is my space to be creative, and truthfully, I have lots of ideas for writing. I just need to sit down and get started, rather than distract myself with other duties. So that is what I’m doing today, in between those other duties.

Just as I was trying to decide on a subject for today’s blog post, I opened a drawer and found a couple of very old notebooks. Indeed, I had forgotten about one of them, and the other I had been searching for and couldn’t locate. It was in the same drawer I had already searched, but hidden underneath another notebook, and this one is very battered and well worn. But it is full of ideas. I had this notebook before my children were born, and I would jot down little snippets of writing inspiration to be used in the future. Well, now it’s the future, so maybe I should use them!

Here is a note that confused me: A view over Cardiff from a modern hotel window or the roof of a tall, historic building. It is early morning just before dawn, and the city is quiet, with electric lights reflecting off the river. It is romantic at this time, before the start of a busy working day in the human world. Now, I haven’t visited Cardiff before, but I have visited lots of beautiful places in Wales, and maybe this inspiration came from Manchester and I just changed the city. Who knows? But it is there, and perhaps I will incorporate it into a novel. There are hints of it in my upcoming novel Hunting the Hunted (currently with agents). I wonder what other gems I will find in this battered old notebook? The possibilities are endless!

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