One of the first things that I learned when it came to writing was that a writer should write every day. It didn’t matter what I wrote if I was writing. I thought about this and realized that regardless of what type of writing I was doing, I was still writing every day. Whether it came to a social media post about a friend’s birthday, opening my notepad on my phone and jotting down my thoughts, a blog post, or even working on my novel, I was writing. At times I get the dreaded writer’s block, and I think I get it not because of not having an idea of where I’m going with what I’m trying to say, but because I have a fear of failure. I struggle with being a perfectionist in most if not all the things that I do. I believe that everything I do or say is a representation of my character, and I want my work to perfectly represent me well. I fear that what may seem perfect to me will fail with others. I must remind myself that we’re all different and it’s okay if someone doesn’t agree with how I write or even like my work. When I start to write something, I tell myself that failure doesn’t mean you failed, it just means that you tried. I think Denzel Washington said it best “every failed experiment is one step closer to success”. You must look at the positive in your failed attempts because it just means you are one step closer to succeeding. I constantly remind myself on the successes that people have achieved and how they got there. Thomas Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts with the lightbulb and on his 1,001 attempt the light came to life. Success doesn’t happen overnight; it takes hard work and dedication. Keep writing, put pen to paper, write what you want and feel, write for you and no one else. You are your toughest critic, because no doubt about it, failure is inevitable. I always tell people “don’t be afraid to fail at something you love doing, because you will fail at least once, but you’ll get up and succeed or fail again – that is called trying”. So, here’s to FAILING, may it bring me success sooner or later!