Writing & Running

(This is me and my baby brother a few years ago before the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot-- 5 miles. I still slog my way around the block. This past fall my brother finished the New York City marathon-- his first!)

This week Sara at Read Write Believe and Liz at Liz in Ink have been doing a great series of posts called The Exercise of Writing. (If you haven't been following along, here and here are the places to start.)

Yesterday Sara asked- How is writing like your favorite sport? Here's my list of answers. Once I got going it was quite hard to stop- kind of how it is with writing and running!

Writing is like running because:

1. It helps to warm up.
2. Some days it's good to get it done early.
3. There are slow runners and fast runners. (Different abilities, creative processes.)
4. If you slip and fall it's good to just get up and keep going. (Rejections.)
5. Except for the times it would be good to take a break. (Rest, relax and re-inspire.)
6. The more you practice, the better you'll get.
7. A long shower feels great when you're done. (Sense of satisfaction.)
8. It helps to have goals.
9. Hills are hard, but good. (Challenges.)
10. Some days you'll catch that lovely high and coast along.
11. Other days it's okay to just walk. (Perseverance-- you're still moving.)
12. Be wary of cars-- they can be dangerous. (Critics. Nay-sayers.)
13. Sometimes you'll get an annoying pebble in your shoe. (Doubts about a story. Or your abilities.) You could stop your momentum and shake it out. Or you could bear with it and fix it later.
14. Whether you have the fanciest high-tech gear or just a ratty t-shirt and an old pair of sneakers, you still have to put one foot in front of the other.
15. And finally, there will always be other runners who are faster, stronger and look better in spandex shorts. Are you going to let that stop you?