Sebastian Barry, the author of
my current fave novel, “Days Without End,” has this theory. When asked by an
Irish friend of his (who I had the pleasure of spending some time with this
past weekend, July 7-9) what was the secret of his writing success, he said, “No
secret. Writing is best seen as a muscle; to get strong you have to exercise it
every day.”
This makes perfect sense to me.
I ran for about 35 years with my
body out of balance. Early in 2011, the breakdown happened. I injured myself, a
massive hamstring tear.
I could have been excused for
quitting running. In fact, one of the doctors I saw that year advised me to do
just that.
Instead, I started a modest
exercise program. Nightly pushups, 60 per.
I haven’t hit 365 nights per
year since then, closer to an annual average of 300, I’d say. But with a
stronger torso, I put less strain on my legs, my joints. I’ve run pretty much
pain-free for the past two years, because I’ve exercised my chest, shoulder and
arm muscles. I can take on different and more difficult tasks. It’s not so much
aptitude but exercise.
Just do it, as the slogan says.
Write every day. Sometimes only half an hour, sometimes four hours, sometimes
an in-between length of time. But do that and you’ll get better. My guess is Barry’s
theory would work for just about everything.
Next: Running for Your Life: On Vacation
