My daughter Amanda ran the New York Marathon yesterday. She hadn’t trained properly. She was sleep deprived. She walked for several miles.
But she finished.
Amanda is a surgery resident (surgeon-in-training) so she had plenty of excuses for not being prepared.
But she finished.
The last two miles – and especially the two-tenths of a mile after Mile 26 – were killer, she said. “Why don’t they put more signs so you know when you’re almost there?” she asked.
But she finished.
There is nothing more exciting than “spectating” a marathon. After the Mile 8 sighting in Brooklyn, I took the subway into Manhattan to catch my daughter at Mile 17. And then raced to catch two more subways to wait at the finish line. As a spectator, you are part of a massive event which runs through all five boroughs of New York City.
So which is more challenging? Running 26.2 miles or writing a book?
Full disclosure: this wasn’t Amanda’s first marathon so she knew what to expect. She knew what it was like to get up at 4:30 AM to get to the starting line and how to handle the crowds while you are waiting.
The answer is that running a marathon and writing a book are both difficult, hugely challenging and, let’s not kid around, painful.
They have a lot in common:
– Running a marathon and writing a book are often Bucket List items.
– Preparation, both mindset and muscles, helps. But gutting it out is what gets you to the finish line.
– Having a game plan is crucial. Knowing when to run, faster or slower; knowing when to walk. Knowing when to free write, when to get a shitty first draft down, when to revise.
– Both require absolute clarity about your goal: FINISH.
– Running long distances and writing a book are both exhausting. They aren’t comfortable experiences when you’re in the middle of them.
– Both are a way to expand your perceived limits, to reinvent yourself!
So if running a marathon is on your Bucket List, go for it! I’m happy to spectate.
If writing a book is on your Bucket List, I can help you:
– achieve clarity on your Big Idea (this is huge; it’s the WHY of your book for your reader)
– organize so it’s easier to write
– switch up your writing modes so you can get past obstacles like writer’s block and procrastination (remember how Amanda ran AND walked to get to the finish line)
– know when your draft is ready to hand over to an editor
– deal with uncertainty about finishing (yes, you can!)
– decide whether to self or indie publish, or pursue traditional publishing
Tell me what’s on your Bucket List (running or writing??)
Use my private email [email protected] to tell me the top two things on your Bucket List. Is writing a book one of them?
Yours in possibilities,
Debbie