How Writers Can Turn Failure into Success: A Simple Recipe

From Edie: Writing setbacks happen to every author. Discover a simple, encouraging recipe for revising, persevering, and turning writing failure into success.

How Writers Can Turn Failure into Success: A Simple Recipe

by Beth K. Vogt @BethVogt

A few weekends ago, I made gluten free orange cranberry scones.

“Beth,” you say with a sigh, “what does baking scones have to do with writing?”

I invite you to keep reading.

This was my second time making the scones. The first time? The scones came out of the oven golden and fragrant. This picture-perfect result may have had something to do with my providing kitchen and the ingredients and then stepping back while my daughter Amy did the actual baking. 

Ahem.

This time, the scones were made in my kitchen with my ingredients, and I also enlisted my husband, Rob, to bake the scones with me. This would be fun. Relaxing. 

Ahem again.

Our attempt produced gloppy dough. My husband kept saying, “It will be fine” and I kept saying, “No, it won’t.” We debated tossing the dough in the trash and starting over, but that seemed like a waste of both time and money. Instead, we resisted defeat and kept working with that doughy mess and—surprise! We ended up with 16 delicious, albeit not perfect, scones. 

Later that day, I talked with a writer friend whose story wasn’t coming together like she’d envisioned. I’d edited part of her manuscript and provided feedback, which helped her realize she needed to rethink several key elements of her book. 

At one point, she laughed and said the story was like bread dough that had gotten out of control and risen way past the confines of the bowl. Maybe she just needed to toss it.

Aha! My scones!

This wasn’t the time to toss her story; she needed to keep working with it. 

I shared my scone story with her and encouraged her not to throw that manuscript in the trash. Did it need to be reworked? Yes. But there were strong aspects to the story too. Maybe what she needed to do was set the story aside and let it rest while she worked on another book idea. 

After we finished talking, I texted her photos of my scones to remind her that success can come from what looks like a failure. You just need to be patient and adjust what you’re doing.

What about you? When have you been able to turn what looked like a writing failure into a success?

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How Writers Can Turn Failure into Success: A Simple Recipe from @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She’s authored 15 novels and novellas, both contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Beth is a Christy Award winner, an ACFW Carol Award winner, and a  RITA® finalist. Her newest contemporary romance novel, Dedicated to the One I Love, released June 20, 2023. Her novel Things I Never Told You, book one in her Thatcher Sisters Series by Tyndale House Publishers, won the 2019 AWSA Golden Scroll Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people. Connect with Beth at BETHVOGT.COM.