“Just Show Up”

Boston Marathon women’s winner Desiree Linden celebrates after she crosses the finish line on Monday.  John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images.  Image Source: NPR (All Things Considered–Click on Image for more information)

Training to Write

This will be a shorter blog post today–it is “Study Day” where there are no classes, but I want to use the day to catch up on reading and schoolwork.

“Just Show Up” is what Desiree Linden, the first American to win the women’s race in the Boston Marathon in 33 years, told a reporter in an NPR interview after the race.  Desiree tells how training wasn’t going well and that some days felt great and some days felt less great, and goes on to explain that she told herself to “just show up” and on the day of the race, to “just show up for one more mile.”  This is exactly the sentiment that we as writers and that myself in particular need to hear.

Writing to Train

One of the things that Desiree Linden said in the interview that really spoke to me as a writer was that her training phase was particularly brutal (as was the race with the poor weather conditions).  She said that some days the training “flowed” and went to plan, but that some days it was really difficult and arduous.  She, however, decided to stop thinking about it so much and to just “show up.”  She has a Twitter mantra that says that she makes a choice every day “show up” and that she needs to stop worrying about what the day gave her and to just “show up.”  This is so applicable to me and my writing life because too often, the writing doesn’t “flow” like I want it, or rejections come that are out of my control.  Like Desiree, I just need to “show up” for each writing project and enjoy the process.  Her crossing the finish line was an accomplishment and winning the race was a victory.  I need to make finishing projects my accomplishment and publication (which is out of my control except to write the best story I can) my victories.

Music Makes the Medicine Go Down

One thing that I noticed was that she had a strong love of music–it begins and ends the NPR story.  Finding a strong musical choice can help motivate you and give you the inner strength and energy to “show up.”  I’ve noticed that I don’t write to music as much as I use too (the room is silent right now even as I type these words).  I’m going to have to get back to giving myself a musical boost if I want to follow Desiree Linden’s example and “Just Show Up.”

Have a great day!

Sidney

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• Read Skin Deep (Sci-Fi) for Free at Aurora Wolf
• Read Childe Roland (Fantasy) for Free at Electric Spec

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• Read Faerie Knight (Fantasy) in the anthology Fae, Rhonda Parrish, Ed. or the Kindle Edition
• Read Ship of Shadows (Sci-Fi) in the anthology Visions IV: Space Between Stars, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
• Read WarLight (Sci-Fi) in the anthology Visions VI: Galaxies, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
• Read Dragonhawk (Fantasy) in the magazine Tales of the Talisman, Vol. 8, Iss. 3, David Lee Summers, Ed. or the Kindle Edition