Joseph Grammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "running"
Marathons
I'm atrocious when it comes to running. I'm no fan of pacing, consistency, or doing the same thing twice in one week. It's not part of my hardware. But when it comes to writing a book, all that stuff is necessary (unless you're into the avant-garde, but even then you need some patience).
Six months ago I wasn't even writing every day. I was working in an office and only wrote fiction for fun, when I felt like it, to feel creative and inventive and all that jazz. Then my girlfriend Anna (www.2lch.com) created a word-tracking web app called Twords (www.twords.2lch.com) to help spur my writing career when I confessed I wanted to do it professionally (or at least attempt to).
I am not an app person, and I am technologically stunted even though I am 24 years old. Anna frequently giggles at the way I interact with 21st-century devices. But Twords got me writing every day, which made me feel less like a hobbyist and more like a person who actually values writing fiction for dollars.
Sure, I did NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) a few times, but Twords helped build my habit of writing because I could log in every day. This process felt like slamming my head against a cabinet for a few weeks, and then slowly got easier. Now I get antsy if there's the possibility of me not having Internet access to log my word count. Odd how swiftly you can depend on things that used to enrage you.
I always marveled at people who ran marathons; they were like insane superheroes with tighter clothing. But now I see the appeal, even if my own version has nothing to do with leg muscles or fanny packs of GU Energy Gel.
Every day I push my book forward. Some days suck, and other days fill me with the kind of joy new episodes of Invader Zim used to instill in me. Most days are just OK, which is fine with me. At least I'm stumbling in a single direction.
P.S. It's sad how I felt weird about writing "one direction" because of the band. Did they really have to ruin that phrase for me? Oh well, get over it, Joe. Go eat some GU.
Six months ago I wasn't even writing every day. I was working in an office and only wrote fiction for fun, when I felt like it, to feel creative and inventive and all that jazz. Then my girlfriend Anna (www.2lch.com) created a word-tracking web app called Twords (www.twords.2lch.com) to help spur my writing career when I confessed I wanted to do it professionally (or at least attempt to).
I am not an app person, and I am technologically stunted even though I am 24 years old. Anna frequently giggles at the way I interact with 21st-century devices. But Twords got me writing every day, which made me feel less like a hobbyist and more like a person who actually values writing fiction for dollars.
Sure, I did NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) a few times, but Twords helped build my habit of writing because I could log in every day. This process felt like slamming my head against a cabinet for a few weeks, and then slowly got easier. Now I get antsy if there's the possibility of me not having Internet access to log my word count. Odd how swiftly you can depend on things that used to enrage you.
I always marveled at people who ran marathons; they were like insane superheroes with tighter clothing. But now I see the appeal, even if my own version has nothing to do with leg muscles or fanny packs of GU Energy Gel.
Every day I push my book forward. Some days suck, and other days fill me with the kind of joy new episodes of Invader Zim used to instill in me. Most days are just OK, which is fine with me. At least I'm stumbling in a single direction.
P.S. It's sad how I felt weird about writing "one direction" because of the band. Did they really have to ruin that phrase for me? Oh well, get over it, Joe. Go eat some GU.
