Introduction

Luke Skywalker didn’t lift the X-Wing from the Dagobah swamp on the first try, nor did Vin master Allomancy within the first attempts with each metal. They tried and failed and repeated until they got it. The try/fail cycle is a universal concept that can apply to life as much as to your writing. There is no set amount of times to try then fail before you try then succeed, but in literary, film, and even video-games, this often follows the rule of three.

The challenge with the try/fail cycle isn’t that it’s hard, but that we as the authors want our characters to succeed. We know they will eventually, but they have to go through a process in order to reach that success. I can’t remember who said this, but it was during a podcast interview:

“If you wanted to create a successful human being, what would you put them through?… It wouldn’t be easy… If you wanted to create a patient person, you’d withhold their desires from them.”

While that’s my flawed memory of the quote, I hope it aids in your understanding that even though we love our characters; we have to let them fail in order to succeed.

This post explains the try/fail cycle for stories: what it is and how to make memorable ones using specific techniques.

Understanding the Try/Fail Cycle: More Than Just Setbacks

The try/fail cycle is a pretty straightforward concept, but plenty of us still implement it ineffectively. So let’s start with the basic concept. The try/fail cycle is when a character tries to solve a problem, fails, learns from it, and tries again differently. Note: This isn’t just something bad happening to your character, but a pattern of escalation and growth.

I’ll use a real-life example from David Goggins’ book, *Can’t Hurt Me*, before giving a literary one, as real-life stories can sometimes be more impactful. In his book, Goggins talks about his attempt at the pull-up world record. In his first attempt, he tried to break the record live on television. He failed, because of the bar not being as secure as he was used to, wasting movements, and the heat factor of the windows and stage lights.

He learned from those mistakes and made a second attempt at a gym. He tested the bar, minimized his movements, even for drinking water, but wasn’t prepared for the damage the bar and gloves would cause to his hands. Because of the Rhabdomyolysis, or overexertion of muscles, and his blistered and swelling hands, he failed this second attempt too. On his third attempt he pooled all his knowledge together, got pads specially created for his hands, and ensured his muscles were physically ready for the strenuous process. This allowed him to beat the pull-up record.

I love this example because it really embodies the anatomy of a try/fail cycle: Goal -> Plan -> Action -> Complication/Failure-> Consequence-> New Information-> Revised Goal

In fiction we can see this through the character’s journey and can span the entire book, chapters, or even as small scale as scenes.

One of my favorite literary examples of this is The Martian by Andy Weir. Mark Wattney’s entire survival on the surface of Mars is a try/fail cycle. Weir gets the try/fail cycle right in a lot of the little things as much as the big things. For example, on Sol 64, he has to move a battery from one rover to the second. Weir doesn’t just have Mark muscle it over and find a spot for it, but he has to create his own solution to fit two batteries on a rover that was designed for one.

In the big story events, you can see the try/fail cycle as Mark Wattney gets minor victories and then setbacks. Around Sol 114 he can contact NASA finally, but on Sol 119, a breach in the HAB ends up undoing a lot of his work, setting him back. This is a key moment for showing character. The big problems allowed Weir to use the HAB scene to demonstrate Mark’s growing ability to survive in a harsh environment.

Whether you’re applying the try/fail cycle in life or fiction, it’s important to remember that each fail leads to growth so that the next try might lead to success. The reason we want growth is to prevent insanity. If you do the same thing every time and fail every time, then you’re not learning from your failure, driving you and your readers deeper into madness. Give your characters something to learn from their failures, and you’ll find that they drive the story on naturally.

Escalation and Variation: Keeping Cycles Fresh

While the try/fail cycle is a staple of fantasy storytelling, there’s only so much trying and failing readers will tolerate. Too few attempts and the eventual success feels unearned; too many and the narrative starts to drag. This is where the rule of threes becomes invaluable. It’s a classic pattern in which characters typically fail two or three times before succeeding. It isn’t a rigid formula, but it’s remarkably effective.

The roots of the rule of threes go all the way back to Aristotle, who noted that people remember information best in groups of three. In Rhetoric, he uses the phrase omne trium perfectum—“everything that comes in threes is perfect.” You can see this pattern everywhere: The Three Little Pigs, The Three Musketeers, the three witches in Macbeth. The structure endures because it works.

The key to using two or three attempts is escalation. Each failure should make the situation worse, more complicated, or more revealing. By the time the reader reaches the third attempt, they should feel how the earlier failures shaped the path to success. What you want to avoid is simply breaking a task into three identical beats—for example, three climbs up the same mountain that all fail for the same reason. Instead, let each attempt expose a new obstacle. Maybe the first climb fails because the characters realize they need specialized equipment. They return with the gear, only to discover a new challenge—perhaps they need a larger party, a specific spell, or knowledge only one person possesses. Whatever the obstacle, it should feel distinct and meaningful, not repetitive or punitive. Sending them back down the mountain for the same reason twice risks frustrating the reader.

Patrick Rothfuss demonstrates this beautifully in The Name of the Wind. Kvothe faces repeated setbacks at the University, each one different in cause and consequence. As he tries to earn money, advance his studies, or outmaneuver Ambrose, he breaks rules, loses trust, and damages his reputation. These failures lead to bans from the Archives, tuition problems, and escalating feuds. Each setback pushes him into a new arena—music, sympathy, the Fishery, the Archives—and each one deepens both his character and the narrative. Notice how every failure is distinct, with its own ripple effects. Together, they shape the man Kvothe becomes.

Yes, But / No, And: The Micro-Level Mechanics

Now let’s talk about creating meaningful try/fail cycles. Let’s start out by recognizing that not every success is a success, and not every failure is a failure. This is the core concept of the “Yes, but”/”No, and” framework. It builds on the concept of every action having a reaction or consequence, and not all consequences are bad. All this adds complexity to your writing while building reader intrigue.

Let’s look at when to use each moment.

The “Yes, but” is a moment where the protagonist is given a partial victory that complicates the larger picture of the story. You’ll see this as, yes the protagonist recovered the magical sword needed to conquer the dragon, but the sword is cursed and will lead to impossible destruction if used. Think of the black sword, Nightblood, in The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. It’s an extremely powerful sword, but drawing it leads to the swords blood-lust driving the user to kill anyone in their path. This allows your character to make progress while building a new obstacle for reader engagement at the same time.

Or if you’re looking for a sci-fi example, The Expanse, does a great job of showing this through James Holden. When Holden sends out his initial broadcast, it succeeds in spreading the truth, but it also paints him as a political enemy and creates new obstacles he never anticipated.

The “No, and” approach is for failures that escalate. Look at this like a compound effect. The spell not only fails, but drains the caster’s life force. You can find an example of this in The Wheel of Time. In The Wheel of Time, Rand often reaches for the One Power in moments of desperation, but fails to control it. Worse, each attempt leaves him sicker, more paranoid, and more vulnerable, escalating both internal and external danger. In Dune, Paul and Jessica’s failure to prevent House Atreides from being betrayed and destroyed forces them into a desperate escape. Their flight drives them into the deadly desert, hunted by both Sardaukar and Fremen, and every step becomes more dangerous. Their survival grows increasingly uncertain as the initial failure destabilizes the political landscape and magnifies the threats around them.

Writing Exercise: The Three-Attempt Arc

Setup : Choose a character and a specific goal they’re pursuing in your current work-in-progress. If you don’t have a WIP, create a simple scenario: a character trying to escape a locked room, win someone’s trust, or complete a dangerous ritual.

Attempt 1: Write your character’s first attempt to achieve their goal. Make them fail, but identify why they failed. What did they learn? What new information do they now have? End with a concrete lesson or realization.

Attempt 2: Write the second attempt. Your character applies what they learned, but introduce a different obstacle—one they couldn’t have anticipated from the first failure. This attempt should make things worse in a new way. Use either “Yes, but” (partial success with complications) or “No, and” (failure that escalates the problem).

Attempt 3: Write the final attempt. Combine everything learned from attempts one and two. Show how both previous failures shaped this approach. You can choose success or failure here, but the attempt should feel distinct from the previous two and demonstrate clear growth.

Reflect: Review your three attempts. Are they different enough from each other? Does each failure teach something new? Does the escalation feel natural?

Conclusion

The try/fail cycle isn’t about torturing your characters—it’s about transforming them. Whether you’re working with the grand arc of Mark Watney’s survival on Mars or the intimate struggles of Kvothe at the University, remember that each failure should escalate differently, teach something new, and push your character into unexplored territory.

Use “Yes, but” to complicate victories and “No, and” to compound defeats. Let the rule of threes guide you, but don’t treat it as a rigid formula. Most importantly, give your characters something to learn from each setback so they—and your readers—can feel the weight of the eventual success. Now go put your characters through hell, and watch them become the heroes they were meant to be.

What’s one scene in your current project where you can apply the try/fail cycle? Share it in the comments below.

5. Additional Resources

• Books on craft:
  • Story Genius by Lisa Cron (on cause and effect)
  • The Anatomy of Story by John Truby (on complications and obstacles)
  • Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody (on beat structure)
• SF/F specific resources:
  • Brandon Sanderson’s lectures on magic systems and plot (available free on YouTube)
  • Writing Excuses podcast episodes on try/fail cycles and escalation
• Examples to study:
  • The Martian by Andy Weir (masterclass in scientific try/fail cycles)
  • Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (learning magic through failure)
  • Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (escalating tactical challenges)
  • A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (spiritual/magical failures and growth)

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