The importance of learning from mistakes in the growth of writing is emphasized by Colin Brooke and Allison Carr in “Failure Can Be an Important Part of Writing Development”. They advocate allowing students the opportunity to reflect on their errors and keep writing until they master it. They highlight the value of teaching students how to face failure by using instances from J.K. Rowling’s early writing career. They advocate for teachers to reshape some of their curriculum to allow experimentation and inquiry without jeopardizing grades, to support continued writing development, and to help students recognize that failure offers a chance for improvement. Throughout the article they explain that good writers must be willing to make mistakes and learn from them in order to improve their work; they cannot only generate wonderful first drafts.
The secret to writing success is trying, failing, and trying again. Failure is a very necessary component of success and that effective writing results from going back and rewriting and considering what was written. On their first tries, students frequently aim to produce ideal manuscripts, yet this frequently results in failures and errors.
Failure presents a chance for development since it enables a writer to learn from their errors and enhance their writing. Recognizing and fixing your mistakes along the road can help you advance and get better at what you do. Failure during the early phases of writing is common, and it gives you the opportunity to improve the piece by learning from setbacks.
Failing in rough drafts is not a failure, as it allows you to make mistakes and fix them, leading to a near-perfect piece. “One of the most important things students can learn is that failure is an opportunity for growth”(Brooke and Carr) It takes time to get comfortable with failure, but it is a part of the process that helps us step out of our comfort zone and grow as writers. Discomfort pushes us to be our best, and failure allows us to grow and learn from our mistakes.
I have learned during my time in school that it is possible to fail a test, an essay, or even a simple task. The lesson I learned from this was to accept failure and learn from it. People sometimes overthink their mistakes and criticize themselves, but the truth is that you can only become better if you know what you need to focus on. Writing is one of those things that you have to study and get better at throughout the course of your lifetime.
