If you write a hundred short stories and they're all bad, that doesn't mean you've failed. You fail only if you stop writing.
Interpretation
Persistence in writing is key to success, regardless of initial failures.
This quote by Ray Bradbury emphasizes the importance of perseverance in the creative process. It suggests that producing work, even if it does not meet one's standards, is a valuable part of growth as a writer. True failure lies in giving up, not in the act of creating itself.
In practice
Sharing this quote during a writing workshop to inspire budding authors.
I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
I never went to college, so I went to the library.
There must be something in books, something we canβt imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You donβt stay for nothing.
I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health.
You can't try to do things; you simply must do them.
Most of us are waiting. We're waiting for something interesting to happen. And I think we're going to wait forever if we don't do something more interesting with our lives.
The grim reality is that most start-ups fail. Most new products are not successful. Yet the story of perseverance, creative genius, and hard work persists.
I never race for records. The motivation to try to beat the record is not enough to continue. You have to enjoy it.
There are many who are living far below their possibilities because they are continually handing over their individualities to others. Do you want to be a power in the world? Then be yourself.
When everything seems to be going well and your dream is almost within your gasp, that is when you must be more alert than ever.
The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, learn about them, or even seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.