Ok so I had this dream where I looked down a cliff and decided to do a reality check. I then realised I was dreaming but then immediately woke up. does this count as a lucid dream? Or did I just fail completely lol. I felt like total crap when I woke up. 
I you feel like you realized that you are dreaming then it does count:
Did you feel excited when you wake up? Did your heart racing? If you had those “symptoms” they you were just too excited and that’s the reason for waking up.
Here’s very good guide on how to control your dreams, and how to control your emotions within the dream.
When I realised I was dreaming I was completely calm but for some reason my vision faded completely and I just woke up. 
Is this normal since I haven’t been trying for an LD in a while? I remember my first lucid dream which went for ~10 secs and it was great…
I guess it’s normal. I mean we can try and try but actual experience we gain inside a dream. So if you weren’t practicing for some time then you are probably at the beginning…
Like I said, you should practice more and stick with that… It’s rewarding at the end!
