Writing

My most commonly repeated mistake when it comes to writing is to assume that I need something to say before sitting down to write.

This is entirely the wrong way around, and akin to assuming that I must be fit to run a race before I can go out for a run.

As fitness is the result of the running you do, so is what you write a result of the writing you do. So as you should not worry whether your training runs are race-worthy performances, do not trifle yourself with concerns of whether what you write is worthy of broadcasting.

The quality of the writing you do will be directly related to the volume of writing you do. And the more you write, the more you will find to write about.

Of course, as every runner will eventually discover that what truly matters is no the thrill of the race, but rather the work itself, as will every writer eventually find that what he writes matters far less than the fact that he does it all. Regularly and with intent.

Fin.

I transcribed this from notebook, where I jotted it down while minding the water bottles while the kids spent four hours running around an indoor play park on a rainy, Saturday morning.