How to Deal with Failure to Launch 🚀
In 2017 the world was treated to something glorious.
During the San Diego Comic-Con, Nickelodeon released a trailer for their upcoming television movie for Rocko’s Modern Life, a series that ended back in 1996. It was to be dubbed Static Cling.
The trailer had everything a fan of the series could hope for: the original creator and voice actors, its classic 90s style, the topical, borderline adult humour and gags. The hype was real for the project, promised to be “Coming Soon”.
A year after its debut at Comic-Con, fans waited with baited breath for its triumphant return…but it was not to be. Alas, 2018 came and went with nary a mention from Nickelodeon on the whereabouts of the TV special.
Murmurings about the fate of the movie floated around on Twitter. Rocko’s creator Joe Murray, who was unflappably optimistic in the fall of 2018, re-emerged with fresh dread about the project, confiding in the worried masses his fears that the network may have forgotten about him outright.
With this confession and the current changing of the guard among the executives at Nickelodeon, it’s becoming increasingly likely that Static Cling may never see the light of day.
Ironically, while the trailer begins with Rocko returning to Earth via rocket ship, it appears this project suffers from a failure to launch.
It’s not just TV specials that fall victim to the failure to launch. Writers go through this phase constantly, either because they can’t commit to finishing a manuscript, or because of an inability to find a publisher to accept their work. In these situations, it’s crucial to do the following steps in order to survive the turmoil of failing to launch.
1) It’s okay to be upset
First, it’s perfectly acceptable to feel upset and disappointed. These are natural emotions that need to be expressed, as they are part of the healing process. It’s important to not remain in this stage of pity and self-loathing. Pout, scream, kick something, swear, cry…. then clean yourself and get back to business as usual. The world’s not going to wait around for you, so return to normalcy as soon as you can.
2) Be patient — ‘not yet’ is not a ‘no’
Success is paved with all your previous rejections. That guest post that was accepted was preceded by many emails for rejected pitches. When you receive a no, or several nos, or a litany of nos that cripple your self-esteem, remember that no one succeeds in life by staying in their comfort zone or taking the easy way out. That may lead to a lot of discomfort and a lot of deference, as we are seeing with Joe Murray and Static Cling, but eventually he WILL get that yes, and it WILL be released on the airwaves. Have patience.
3) Work on other projects
Of course, there’s going to be those times where it’s just not going to happen. While it may be tempting to pivot back to point #1, it’s a better practice to work on something else as a contingency. There’s a distinct possibility that Static Cling may never be released. It would be unfortunate, yes, but would it devastate Joe Murray? Heck no! In fact, he’s doing quite swimmingly with his new show Let’s Go, Luna! on PBS Kids. Things may not have gone as planned, but at least Murray is inspiring a new generation of viewers that will appreciate his work.
Failure to Launch happens. Know it, accept it, and get through it. You’ll thank yourself in the long run.
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Sylvie Soul is a recovering fanfiction writer on the path to writing her first novel. When not deliberating over plot holes and negotiating extra-lean word counts, she hopes to use her years of experience teaching other aspiring writers to follow their dreams and pursue their writing journey. Check out Sylvie’s Twitter page or visit her website at sylviesoul.com.
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