What I learned about writing from the Phillies crashing out of the World Series race…

I’m a fan of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team.

(Thank you for your condolences. Visiting hours will be between 6 and 8 pm)

One of the things I love about baseball is the fact that it’s not over until it’s over, when suddenly, nail-bitingly, it is. (Like last night. Ugh.)

But as I’ve become more of a fan of the game, other lessons have become clear that I think we writers could do with pondering.

Failure is A Big Part Of The Game

Everyone says ‘you have to get lots of rejections to get published’, and that ‘shitty first drafts’ are part of the process, but I don’t think we give enough energy to learning to love those realities.

In baseball:

• Elite players fail 70% of the time they step up to the plate.
• Failing 75% of the time impresses nearly everyone..
• The league’s worst hitter this year failed 80% of the chances he got (and hasn’t been fired).

These players keep striving even when the game is this mean to them.

Where’s The Hole I Can Crawl Into?

The Phillies’ 2025 World Series dreams ended on a rookie mistake—a horrifying, painful, embarrassing flub by a young pitcher, who made the wrong split-second decision.

In. Front. Of. Everyone.

Then he had to go out and talk to the press about it, afterwards.

I’m not sure I could have done that.

Of course, the media-trained young pitcher said all the right things like, “this sucks right now”, “get over this hump and keep pushing”.

City of Brotherly Grit

I hope he can find the resilience and courage to do that in the face of humiliation and doubt (and the famously vocal Philadelphia fans), even if he has to borrow that grit, occasionally, from the people around him.

If he can, I believe he will be extraordinary, as a player and as a human.

Selfishly, also I hope he succeeds because I need regular, visible reminders that this kind of determination is possible. I’d love him to be my model of how the pursuit of excellence requires courage and resilience and a willingness to carry on in the face of failure and even humiliation.

What It Takes

If that young player thrives, it’ll be down to:

• The years of practice at failure and rebounding that already lie behind him
• Continuing to hone his skills, even as a professional
• The support of a team (of family, friends, colleague, and coaches) who shepherded him through those early years and the team he has around him now who will help him get better and keep his chin up
• The inner work he continues to do to master the discomfort of striving for excellence

Sounds like a good plan, in sports, life, and writing!

You’ve Got This

This week, if you want to:

Practice A Lot: consider Writing A Holiday Story, taking the 3-Day Challenge, or sign up for Writing Prompts & Lessons every week for a year

Work on Your Skills: Follow along with the StoryADay Challenge warm-up tasks

Rely On Your Team: consider joining our upcoming Critique Week (registration opens on Sunday). You’ll have a team of supportive, experienced players to help you see your story clearly and keep your chin up.

Work on Your Inner Game: consider booking a “Writer’s Therapy” coaching session with me.

Keep writing,

Julie

P. S. Have you signed up for the StoryADay November Challenge yet? Remember: set your own rules, and then use the community to help you stick to them!

Join The Discussion

Do you have a lot of resilience around your writing? Do you wish you had more? Do you ever (go on, admit it) resent the fact that things seem so hard? Leave a comment and let us know.