On Writing and Failure
Or, On the Peculiar Perseverance Required to Endure the Life of a Writer
2023
First Published
4.08
Average Rating
79
Number of Pages
Part of Series
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 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.
Avg Rating
4.08
Number of Ratings
488
5 STARS
39%
4 STARS
38%
3 STARS
16%
2 STARS
5%
1 STARS
2%
goodreads
Author
Stephen Marche
Author · 9 books
Stephen Marche is the author of The Unmade Bed (2016), The Hunger of the Wolf (2015), Love and the Mess We’re In (2013), How Shakespeare Changed Everything (2012), Shining at the Bottom of the Sea (2007) and Raymond and Hannah (2005). He's written for nearly every newspaper and magazine you can name.
