Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

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Running as a Metaphor for Writing

8 Comments

On Wednesday I posted about the similarities between running and writing. Today I thought it would be fun to look at some of these more closely:

In it for the long haul:
Just like the hard work required to add miles or increase speed, writers need to be committed long term. You can’t “become” anything overnight.

Every step counts:
It’s not glamorous to think about those early mornings you force yourself out of bed just to put one foot in front of the other. Neither is it deeply exciting to recall every word you’ve ever put down on paper. But each small effort builds on the next.

Hold onto success to motivate later:
Early last December, my sister called to tell me my brother-in-law wasn’t going to be able to make the half marathon they’d planned to run together. The race was in ten days. Would I like to take his place?

My longest race before this was a 5k. I had no time to train. My sister flew me out to Kiawah, South Carolina, where we walk/ran the first six miles. Then something came over me: I wanted to finish out the race on my own. Though I hadn’t run that far in years, I finished the last seven miles without stopping. I’ve used this moment as motivation ever since.

Have you ever had a breakthrough writing moment? A time you knew what your story was missing, a writing session where every word worked? Save those moments to use as future motivation.

 

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Filed Under: encouragement, the writing life, this and that

Comments

  1. Natalie Aguirre says

    March 11, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    Great post. So true that you have to be in it for the long haul and cherish the successes, no matter how small they are. Can’t wait to read more.

    Reply
  2. Connie says

    March 11, 2011 at 1:31 pm

    Another similarity for me is that you don’t focus on the finish line or look back to see where you’ve come from. It’s the next step that’s important and then the one after that.

    Reply
  3. Caroline Starr Rose says

    March 11, 2011 at 2:32 pm

    Well said, ladies!

    Reply
  4. Lynda Mullaly Hunt says

    March 15, 2011 at 1:17 am

    I love this! Isn’t funny how the writing life parallels so many other things? Well done, Caroline!

    Reply
  5. Katie Rupp says

    March 28, 2014 at 7:53 am

    I wrote about this around New Years. 2013 was a big year for me as a runner and writer. I’ll have to email it to you 🙂

    Reply
    • Caroline says

      April 2, 2014 at 10:41 am

      Katie, I’d love that. Please do!

      Reply
  6. Kimberly Sabatini says

    February 5, 2016 at 8:36 am

    It’s amazing what we can do when we just do it!

    Reply

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