5 strategies for overcoming failure
02/27/23 • 28 min
Failure is a normal part — even an essential part — of any creative journey. But that probably isn’t what you want to hear after experiencing failure yourself. It’s easy to just want to crawl into a hole for a while. Today on Spark & Fire, we’re going to crawl out of that hole long enough to hear from 5 iconic creatives who have learned how to overcome failure to create something truly great.
Featuring actor and writer Randall Park on Always Be My Maybe, novelist Ann Patchett on The Dutch House, songwriting duo Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez on Disney’s Frozen, producers Allan Scott and William Horberg on the hit series Queen’s Gambit, and singer/songwriter Ben Folds on the breakout album Whatever and Ever, Amen.
Follow along (with transcript and photos) at sparkandfire.com/overcomingfailure
Listen to the full episodes that inspired this mixtape:
“Always Be My Maybe” writer and actor Randall Park: https://sparkandfire.com/randallpark/
“The Dutch House” author Ann Patchett: https://sparkandfire.com/annpatchett/
“Frozen” songwriting duo Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez: https://sparkandfire.com/frozen/
“Queen’s Gambit” producers Allan Scott and William Horberg: https://sparkandfire.com/queensgambit/
Singer/songwriter Ben Folds: https://sparkandfire.com/benfolds/
Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Failure is a normal part — even an essential part — of any creative journey. But that probably isn’t what you want to hear after experiencing failure yourself. It’s easy to just want to crawl into a hole for a while. Today on Spark & Fire, we’re going to crawl out of that hole long enough to hear from 5 iconic creatives who have learned how to overcome failure to create something truly great.
Featuring actor and writer Randall Park on Always Be My Maybe, novelist Ann Patchett on The Dutch House, songwriting duo Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez on Disney’s Frozen, producers Allan Scott and William Horberg on the hit series Queen’s Gambit, and singer/songwriter Ben Folds on the breakout album Whatever and Ever, Amen.
Follow along (with transcript and photos) at sparkandfire.com/overcomingfailure
Listen to the full episodes that inspired this mixtape:
“Always Be My Maybe” writer and actor Randall Park: https://sparkandfire.com/randallpark/
“The Dutch House” author Ann Patchett: https://sparkandfire.com/annpatchett/
“Frozen” songwriting duo Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez: https://sparkandfire.com/frozen/
“Queen’s Gambit” producers Allan Scott and William Horberg: https://sparkandfire.com/queensgambit/
Singer/songwriter Ben Folds: https://sparkandfire.com/benfolds/
Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Previous Episode
Fight for your dream: Comedian Cristela Alonzo
When the ABC show Cristela premiered in 2014, Cristela Alonzo made U.S. history, the first Latina to write, produce, and star in her own prime-time comedy. But this dream didn’t come easy: Cristela had to fight for her vision at every stage of the process. As she takes us on the journey to making the sitcom, you’ll hear how she found her first opportunities by simply doing what she loved — which “accidentally” led to a show based on her life. You’ll hear how she fights for the show she wants, to the very end — and never waits for permission to chase her next dream.
Get transcript and photos at sparkandfire.com/cristela
Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Next Episode
How to begin: Susan Orlean on "The Orchid Thief"
How do you move past that "wobbly moment" in your creative journey? Just move. From the moment she heard about it, Susan Orlean knew she had to tell the story of "The Orchid Thief" – a wild, true story of obsession set in the swamps of Florida. But somewhere deep in the telling, she risks losing her own footing. Spark & Fire follows Susan as she pursues the story that "set her brain on fire," pushing past a creative crisis to write the magazine article and then book that in turn inspired the film "Adaptation." She tells her story in her own incisive, honest and very funny words – with insider details you haven’t heard, and actionable advice for anyone at any stage of their creative journey.
Susan Orlean is a journalist and nonfiction writer who became a staff writer at the New Yorker in 1992. Her works of literary nonfiction include The Orchid Thief, The Library Book, and most recently, On Animals. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/susanorlean
Follow along (with transcript and photos) at http://sparkandfire.com/orchidthief/
Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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