Writing In The Long Run

by Hannah Gilead @ NouveauWriter

They say that completing a marathon is as much a psychological feat as it is one of physical strength and endurance. It’s obvious that a lot of training goes into preparing for a long distance run. However, the greatest challenge a runner faces is one of mind over matter. It’s about passion over discouragement and ambition over fatigue; going the long haul despite the pain and the setbacks that come from within and without.

In life, running or writing, what drives us needs to encompass our full heart and soul or it will not propel us far enough. Poets call it “finding your muse”, political and business leaders like to label it “vision” and behavioral psychologists call it “motivation”. I’m partial to the French term: “raison d’être”.

The human spirit is capable of great endurance when it is motivated by altruism and faith—love—rather than survival. It’s true that anyone can sprint when being chased by a wild animal, and you’d think there would be no greater incentive than that! Even so, in our age of self-destruction and soaring suicide rates, giving up on survival seems easier for some than holding on to life.

So what keeps you breathing?

“Why do you chose to live another day?” sounds like a strange question but its answer is very telling. It forms the basis of your personal belief about your purpose. That belief guides your decisions, gives you hope and strength when you get tired and afraid, it allows you to make sense of the injustice and suffering you see and experience. It gives meaning to the journey, regardless of the destination set before you.

Marathoners will often support a cause, raising funds or awareness of important issues. Many have claimed that when teetering on the edge of giving out during the grueling last few miles of a run (runners call it “hitting the wall”) focusing on their reason to run is what helps them to re-stabilize.

Whatever ails affect your writing endeavors, from insecurity to mental exhaustion, view them as normal temporary challenges that all writers experience. Follow your own pace and stop comparing yourself to others. Give yourself permission to slow down and catch your breath. Use that silence to replenish your inner well—expressing needs to be balanced with thinking, feeling, sensing and dreaming.

Focusing on the difficulties you encounter is only as effective as the practical steps you take to alleviate them. Anything beyond that will weaken you. Hope, real or imagined, is the finish line you see on the horizon. It blunts the pain and helps to convince you that you are close enough to make it. Like goals and objectives we set for ourselves, there will always be another mirage just around the bend.

Ambition is a strong force, but love is even more powerful. It is the mythical muse at its highest potency; the inspiration for centuries of poetic verse, ballads and legends. And as long as you feed that love in your heart—for God, child, or another soul that completes you—you have at your disposal an endless supply of raison d’être.

No doubt, the parallels between life, marathon running and writing, are endless. For those familiar with Nanowrimo, the link is even more literal. It doesn’t matter how long it takes or even whether we reach that finish line or not, we should be grateful for the privilege of the craft. Still, I wonder: Do we write to reach our destination, or do we choose a destination that makes the journey worthwhile?

Why do you write?

I asked this question in the very first article I wrote for NouveauWriter, almost a year ago. I think it is a question worth revisiting on a regular basis. For some, the answer changes with the turns of life and circumstance. For others, “…it is an ever-fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken…” (William Shakespeare – sonnet 116)