The most important thing is patience: to try and to try and to try until it comes right. — William Faulkner
—What lingers after this line?
Perseverance at the Center
Faulkner’s line places patience not at the margins of success, but at its very core. By repeating “to try and to try and to try,” he turns persistence into a rhythm, suggesting that achievement rarely arrives in a single inspired moment. Instead, what matters most is the willingness to remain with the work long enough for progress to emerge. In this way, patience becomes active rather than passive. It is not mere waiting, but sustained effort under imperfect conditions. Faulkner, whose long career included rejection and revision, implies that getting something “right” is usually the product of endurance rather than instant brilliance.
Failure as Part of the Process
From there, the quote naturally reframes failure. If one must keep trying until things come right, then early mistakes are not proof of inadequacy; they are built into the path itself. Thomas Edison’s often-cited remarks on testing thousands of filaments before a workable light bulb echo this spirit, even if the anecdote is sometimes simplified in retelling. Consequently, patience protects people from drawing final conclusions too soon. A failed draft, a botched experiment, or an awkward first attempt may simply be an unfinished stage. Faulkner’s wisdom reminds us that many outcomes only make sense when viewed across repeated effort.
The Writer’s Discipline
This idea feels especially fitting coming from Faulkner, whose novels—such as The Sound and the Fury (1929)—show extraordinary structural ambition and linguistic control. Such work does not suggest haste; it suggests a mind willing to wrestle with form until it holds. His statement therefore reads not as abstract advice, but as a craftsman’s testimony. Moreover, writing itself is a discipline of trying again. Sentences are drafted, cut, rearranged, and sharpened. In that sense, Faulkner points to a universal creative truth: excellence often depends less on talent alone than on the stubborn patience to revise what initially falls short.
A Lesson Beyond Art
Yet the quote extends well beyond literature. Athletes repeat movements until technique becomes natural, musicians rehearse difficult passages measure by measure, and scientists revisit hypotheses after disappointing results. In each case, patience is the force that allows effort to accumulate into skill. Similarly, everyday life runs on the same principle. Learning a language, rebuilding trust, or recovering after a setback all demand repeated attempts that may show little immediate reward. Faulkner’s insight unifies these experiences by suggesting that what finally “comes right” usually does so because someone refused to stop before it did.
Patience as a Form of Hope
Finally, Faulkner’s words carry a quiet optimism. To keep trying is to believe that improvement remains possible, even when evidence is incomplete. Patience, then, is not simply endurance; it is hope practiced over time. It asserts that present difficulty does not have the authority to define the final result. That is why the quote remains so enduring. It offers no promise of ease, but it does offer a durable method: continue, adjust, and continue again. In a culture drawn to speed and immediate outcomes, Faulkner restores dignity to slow progress and shows that persistence is often the truest companion of success.
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