Kelly Gibbons, artist and writer, about me

Friday, August 20, 2004

Training to Write

I've been learning to run, and I am now running three miles five to seven days a week. I am not the fastest runner, races won't be one with my times and veteran runners might laugh at my over 10 minute miles, but that doesn't matter to me because I can run three miles--something I never thought I could do. Four months ago I decided I would try. Two months after that I did it for the first time, and today I continue. Four months ago I had never ran three miles in my life, and today I do it almost everyday.

The first day I went out to run, I didn't try to run three miles--if I had done that I wouldn't have completed my goal. I started out slow and worked my way up. I found a run/walk program where I gradually increased my running times over a 10 week period. I started out with a schedule of running two minutes and walking for four and repeating for thirty minutes. The goal was to move for thirty minutes. I didn't count miles--it wasn't about that, it was about getting out there and moving for thirty minutes.

Running for two minutes was harder then I thought it would be, and the first few days were tough, but I stuck with it. Each day it became easier to run.

At the start of each week, my running time would increase by a few minutes, and my walking time would decrease by a few minutes. I would start each week full of confidence though because I had completed the previous weeks. The increased run time was often difficult at the beginning of the week, but I always stuck with it (slow and steady), and at the end of every week it was easier and I was ready to move on. Two minutes of running soon became ten minutes of running, and kept going up. Then one day (a remarkably short time later) I could run three miles.

Today I decided that I would apply my running training to my writing training. They are a lot the same. Somewhere, way back in the beginning I knew that. I knew that a writer didn't become a writer because she said she was a writer. A writer becomes a writer because she writes, just like a runner becomes a runner because she runs, even if it starts out two minutes at a time.

A blank page just doesn't turn into a novel because I say, "I'm going to write a book." It takes persistence and dedication. It takes showing up everyday and writing. One idea leads to one page, and one page to two. As long as the words continue to be written down. Then if you continue to write, a page turns into chapter, keep writing (one a page at a time) and soon there are a few chapters with characters and plot. One word, one page, one day at a time a first draft gets written, as long as you show up and write down the words.

Today I start my writing training. I am committing to writing a novel. I joined my friend Angela's group A NOVEL PLAN and it begins today.

I showed up for running everyday, and now I am a runner. Now it is time to stop taking about writing that book someday and it is time to commit to actually writing it. Everyday, I will write. I will show up. In three months I will hold my first draft in my hand and I will say, "I wrote a book."

posted by Kelly @ 8/20/2004 06:41:00 AM

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