1. Be patient. Progress comes slowly. Good grief, it took forever to build up any real endurance. In the same way, writing progress, building a reader base, hearing from folks you submitted work to are all slow-moving things requiring tremendous patience.
2. Good habits are critical. Even the bad days count. Some days the best thing I can say about my running is that I got sweaty. However, that habit of getting up out of bed, putting on the shoes and logging the miles, day in and day out, builds the discipline that leads to achieving milestones. As a writer, some days the best thing I can say is that I really know my alphabet. Making the commitment to putting words on the paper every day is what brings success.
3. Mentors and buddies are a tremendous help. I usually run by myself. (Not too many people want to haul out at 5 a.m. It’s okay I understand.) But I have running friends who speak my language. I know experienced runners I can ask questions, and I follow sites and Facebook pages of runners and coaches. I do the same thing with writing. I have writer friends who get the anguish of rejection letters, who know how hard writing back cover summaries can be, who love a beautiful tweak of a sentence. I also rely on coaching from great writing blogs, and get a dose of encouragement from Facebook and other social media.
4. Results may surprise you. And that’s not bad. I started running to lose weight. It was four years before that happened. However, my cholesterol and other metrics dropped almost immediately. I started writing with a goal of publication. What I didn’t expect was connecting so deeply with readers.
5. At some point, it’s good to test the training. Yes, there are real tangible benefits from just running for fun, for health but when you take the plunge and sign up for a race, you make a public statement that ‘yes, I am a runner.’ In the same way, there is beauty and benefit in artistic creation even if you are the only one who enjoys your writing. However, there is something encouraging and validating when you take the risk and enter a contest or submit a piece for review or undertake self-publication.
Have you learned any writing lessons from your hobbies or other pursuits?
Paula Wiseman is an award-winning author. Paula has published five books with MindStir Media book publishers — all of them have spent time on Amazon.com bestseller lists. Her sixth book, Sanction, will be released later this year. She also had the honor of appearing on Lifetime TV’s “The Balancing Act,” where she discussed her books. Learn more about Paula Wiseman at her website/blog: www.paulawiseman.com
