Your Writing Workout: Five Things My Cross Training Class Taught Me About Writing

• Posted on Allena Tapia
• in For fellow writers, Freelance world, Personal stuff
• on January 14, 2009
• 4 Comments.

I’ve been working out at the local Y religiously for a couple months now. One of the trainers there really pushes and really knows his stuff, and that’s what makes this particular class so valuable.

It’s funny how the important things in life are also often the hard things in life. But that’s also why the lessons I learn from sweating can be generalized to writing.

1) Just Show Up. The snow outside is up to my waist. I almost ran into some idiot who should not be driving in Michigan. The local coffee shop looked warm and bright. But I still picked my way through the slushy parking lot and presented myself at the studio. Once you get there, the class takes over. You can’t very well leave in the middle, can you? Sure enough, writing is the same thing. I only have to make it from my bed or couch to my home office, but the pathway is sometimes equally difficult. Once I get here, though, the writing takes over. In order to leave, I would have to make the conscious decision to leave.

2) Count It Down. So, I’m sweating it on a spin bike. My gut is not happy, and I briefly wonder since when is exercise supposed to make you nauseous? I’m about to spin that resistance knob all the way to a big fat zero when the trainer says “We got 10 more seconds. I know you can do ten more seconds.” Give me an end, and I’m happier. In writing, you need to know where your end is. Perhaps you’re a hobbyist, and your end is at bedtime. Perhaps you’re a freelancer, and your end is at 3 when the kids come home. Whenever it is, you NEED that end.

3) Make Friends. Now that I’ve been at the gym for a while, I get to know people. Those same people will call me out when I mysteriously disappear. “Hey, I thought you didn’t have to work on Thursdays anymore? Why weren’t you in class?” What can I say? You got me! Same with writing. Seek out fellow writers, whether via boards, blogs or groups. But don’t stay on the sidelines. Get to know them! Make friends. Find partnership.

4) But compete a little. It’s really hard to stop doing crunches when all the other women are still crunching (even if they do have 10 years on me). It’s really hard to stop writing when you know you can compete at, or even above, the same level as other writers. It’s ok to compete a little!

5) Put the right stuff in, or your body won’t work (or your body of work won’t work!) You can’t come to a workout jazzed up on Mars bars and diet coke. Trust me, I’ve tried it. Unless I feed my body good stuff like oatmeal, Carnation shakes or apples and peanut butter, I am hurting halfway through my workout. (Seriously.) So, yes, you have to eat well to write well, because you have to get those synapses firing. But you also have to feed your body the right body of work.

Have you ever been on fire after reading a novel? Maybe you’ve thought–I can make my characters that intriguing! I can manipulate events like that! I have. Finishing Stephen King’s On Writing over the holidays did great things for my novel. Feed your brain!

Of course, these things apply to the rest of life, too. So what are you waiting for? Get on the bike!