Day 17 – 2018 AWAC

The 2018 August Write Away Challenge

If you’re just joining us, please feel free to go back and read the previous content so you’re up to speed! Otherwise, scroll down for today’s prompt.

• 2018 August Write Away Challenge original post
• Day 1 – What book did you read over and over again as a child?
• Day 2 – Some of the things that make me happy are…
• Day 3 – Name three things you’d do if you weren’t so afraid.
• Day 4 – How easy is it for you to forgive those who have caused you pain?
• Day 5 – What are your best character traits?
• Day 6 – What grand adventure do you wish you could go on?
• Day 7 – Dear past me…
• Day 8 – If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be?
• Day 9 – Your favorite movies.
• Day 10 – Did you ever run away from home?
• Day 11 – How do you indulge yourself? Do you need to indulge yourself more often?
• Day 12 – As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
• Day 13 – What would you do if money was no object?
• Day 14 – What one thing caught you off guard this week?
• Day 15 – The most terrifying moment of my life was…
• Day 16 – Do you have a plan? Do you need a plan? Have you had a plan fall spectacularly to pieces?

Keep scrolling down for today’s prompt!

Reminders before we get started:

• The prompt is to use or ignore as you wish;
• Absolutely any form of the written word is allowed;
• All participation will be on the honor system, though sharing is strongly encouraged;
• Participants will be asked to let me know each week that they’ve written daily;
• Those who do write daily for the week will have their name entered into a drawing at the end of the month for a $25 Amazon Gift Card;
• Any blogger who participates and writes every day for the month will receive a badge for your blog.
• Please send me an email or contact me to let me know you’re participating!

Fri, Aug. 17- What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

I was going to rush into this prompt and tell you that if I knew I couldn’t fail, one thing I’d do is finish writing Wicket Lake! Seems straightforward enough. And listen, if you only knew the trouble Kharana has given me… well, you’d feel the same way!

But I think it might be a bit disingenuous. We all like to think that immediate success is gratifying. Maybe it is for a moment. In the end, however, I wonder whether immediate success is as satisfying as working through a series of failures and obstacles?

One of the best moments of Wicket Lake for me so far is the first Kharana chapter. I tried so hard to squeeze her into a mold of what I thought she was. I thought I understood her as a character; I thought I understood what drove her to do the things she did in chapter one; I thought I understood how a girl so young could be filled with such hatred. My failure in initially writing her is the only reason I’ve been able to find any substance with her. It forced me to consider questions many and uncomfortable, and the result is (in my opinion) a much more realistic character with far more realistic struggles and goals.

Failure isn’t always bad. It helps us rethink our preconceptions and reevaluate the problems we need to solve. It causes us to step back and look at everything from a different vantage point.

Failure is not a moral deficiency. Failure to try…? Well, I’m less certain on that.

From the shores of Wicket Lake,