Samuel Beckett’s Persistence

Failing Better

I often return to Samuel Beckett’s most famous command: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” It is the ultimate mantra for the creative life, which is, by its very nature, a series of attempted communications that never quite reach the ideal we hold in our heads.

We often stop writing because the work on the page doesn’t match the brilliance of the thought. But Beckett reminds us that the “failure” is the point. The act of going on—despite the inadequacy of language—is where the art actually lives. Persistence is not about succeeding; it is about refusing to be silent.

The Monroe Minute
Write 100 words today with the specific intention of letting them be “imperfect.” Just keep the pen moving.

Until the next page,
Sloane S. Monroe

Sloane Shay Monroe

I don’t write to idealize love, but to explore it honestly, with emotional precision and depth.