My
wife finished a half-marathon within a minute of her time recorded last year in
the same event, the only times she’s run such a distance. She was glad just to finish, given she didn’t
train as much as last year. About an
hour after she completed the race, aptly called Paine to Pain, what appeared to
be the last runner crossed the finish line.
Almost all of the participants and their cheering squads had left and
things were being packed up, but here came this woman chugging along and making
sure she got to the end. She may have
fallen short of any goals she’d set for herself, but she showed determination
and the triumph of will over exhaustion.
These runners are athletic models to the marathons and battles writers
seek to overcome.
No
matter how much you struggle as a writer, keep on persevering. You will make it to the finish line.
Writers
will get rejections, criticisms, and tough edits. They will continue on.
They
will get writer's block or feel they have reached a dead end. But they’ll write again tomorrow.
They
will feel exhausted from work, the burdens of daily life, and family
obligations. They’ll struggle to make
money, they will get sad over a world gone to the crapper and they will
confront the stages of life’s losses, changes, and challenges. But they will keep on writing.
As
the tall woman drove her lingering legs across the finish line that all other
runners in the race had already crossed, she felt accomplished. She also acknowledged she registered a poor time. Writers can be the same way, momentarily enjoying their work and seeing it as
the best they could do under the current circumstances – and also keeping an
eye on their true prize and expecting to improve and do better next time. Even writers believe they wrote their
best possible article, short story, or book, he or she never thinks of hitting
their peak. Tomorrow always brings the
promise of more – and better writing.
This
blog post may be of interest to you but I’m already thinking I could do better
on another day. None of us are perfect so there’s always room for improvement. I compete against myself to become the best
possible writer I could be. I learn from
others, but I don’t feel fellow writers are competitors. We all learn from each other – and make one
another better at our craft.
Writers
should set goals for themselves. The need to set deadlines for
accomplishments. They measure success by
any number of metrics, including:
Money
made from writing.
Number
of people who read your stuff
People
who are inspired by your writings.
How
often you are published and by which media outlet.
Number
of books published, by whom, and number sold
How
well-received your writings are by the media.
But the real finish line or standard writers should go by is to have the courage,
passion, and ability to pick up the pen – or keyboard – and keep looking to
perfect their craft. Good things will
come the more you write. Of course, writing
is about quality and not quantity, but being prolific helps you improve.
You
need to look back at your writings and see how you can improve. Experiment with
the style and approach that you take.
Improve your vocabulary.
Incorporate elements other successful writers use. Attend writing workshops and
conferences. Work with an editor. Get others to provide feedback to your
writings.
My
style is this – write in a way that proposes new ideas while capturing the
essence of a moment. I like to put things
into a context and give the reader a clear perspective on something. I like to analyze things and ask far more
questions than anyone could answer.
Through the process of inquiry, we may all get on the same page
and look to find an answer or solution that the majority can accept or even
embrace. I’ll throw in some humor as
well. I write out of a deep conviction
for truth -- to discover it, reveal it, and promote it. If I can help another just with words,
imagine what we all can do if we put our resources together.
There
ae a lot of sports metaphors that we can apply to aspects of our lives,
especially the art of writing. But it
seems like writing and sports are the opposite.
Writers don’t look like athletes and many athletes don’t become great
writers or even readers. Writers have
muscles in their brain; athletes are conditioned and trained to compete and
win.
But
writers and runners or athletes certainly share these things in common:
·
They
strive to be better no matter what they accomplish.
·
They
spends hours at a time practicing, their passion.
·
They
can be judged harshly -- or praised-publicly.
·
Millions
of people can do what they do – but many won’t stick with it.
·
They
believe in their abilities and are driven by a strong will.
·
They
have discipline to stay focused and on track.
·
They
celebrate a win, award, or accomplishment -- and then get back to what they need
to do.
·
They
both could benefit from having a therapist/mentor/coach.
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