Accept Your Failure

There are a lot of similarities among arts. I think there is a lot one can learn by finding those principles, those things that always ring true. One of them I have found both in writing and in music.

For a musician, your job application is an audition. Resumes and interviews are largely worthless. Skill matters more than anything else, so you play for a couple of judges and show off those skills. Writing is the same way. A resume might show that you have been published in the past, but it is truly your skill, as seen in a portfolio, that matters most.

If you talk with enough musicians, you will find out that everybody has an audition story. One person didn't warm up enough, so they were still stiff. Another person warmed up too much and was starting to lose steam when they got in front of the judges. Stories can soon get increasingly ridiculous (spontaneous instrument failure, random illness, etc.), but everybody agrees on one thing: sometimes you just have a bad audition. It was nobody's fault. You were prepared, you were warmed up well, everything was in order, but something just didn't click.

Writing is the same way. You have your hits and you have your misses. In terms of a portfolio, you have the luxury of preparing it carefully beforehand, but even still, sometimes it just doesn't go right. Sometimes your reviewer/interviewer just doesn't like it. They question you and your work and you just don't know what to say. You are a combination of shocked, scared, and offended and it just paralyzes you. Similarly, if you are a regular writer, sometimes you just don't have your usual sparkle or zazz. And maybe one day you turn in what you've written and your shocked that you made it because it is so below your standards.

Whether you're a musician or a writer, the same thing is true. Tough luck. These things happen. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get over it. Don't worry about blame. Don't beat yourself up. Don't lose your heart or your confidence. Sometimes you just have a bad audition. Accept your failure and move on to your next thing.