Writing is Just Like Running, Right? My 30-day Writing Challenge

Photo by Andrea Leopardi on Unsplash

Most folks start their resolutions around January. My New Year’s resolutions usually don’t get underway until mid-March.

That’s not entirely true.

I succeeded in achieving a lot of personal goals this year. These included engaging more aggressively in networking and other career-growth activities, completing at least two books a month, kicking the reflexive habit of engaging in pointless debates on Facebook, practicing a musical instrument, and running a 10K in under one hour. In fact, I completed nearly every goal except for one: to write more.

So that’s what November is all about. In the spirit of National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo), I intend to write not one novel, but one article of 1,000 words or more every day in the month of November, and publish them all on Medium.

My Expectations — Writing Will be like Running

Last year, when I started running, I was overjoyed that the shin splints that had plagued me for years were suddenly no longer an issue, and I could manage to run short distances. Not only that, but I discovered that I actually enjoyed running, and when I wasn’t running, I was thinking of running. So I set a personal goal for myself: Within the course of a year, be able to eventually run 10K in an hour without also feeling like I’m dying to death.

I purchased myself a new set of running shoes, researched running techniques, and over the course of six months, trained on the treadmill and outdoors whenever the temperamental Pacific Northwest weather allowed, I finally achieved my goal. At this point, I’ve lost track of all the times I’ve run 10Ks, and at this point, I’m pretty sure I can start to run much longer, and much faster, but I haven’t established any goals yet.

What has running taught me?

• I won’t always succeed at meeting my daily goal.

There have been days where my shin splints would return, I’d get busy with work, or other life-related needs, and had to set my running aside. I’d hate these days. I would feel unaccomplished, and even despite the pain I was in or how tired I was, I’d long to get my shoes on and start running again.

Why should writing be any different? There are going to be reasons — some beyond my own control — that will prevent me from sitting down and committing 1,000 words to print. That doesn’t mean I’ll simply give up and never write again.

• There will be days I won’t feel like doing it.

For someone who enjoys running as much as I do now, I’ll be the first to admit that it can be kind of boring at times. If you think about it, all you’re doing is putting one foot in front of the other. It’s kind of like walking, but sweatier.

Writing will be like that. Not a day goes by when I’m not writing something. Writing is simply long-form texting. And let’s admit it, texting can get pretty monotonous.

• I don’t expect anyone to be cheering me on.

I’m on Medium because it appears to have developed into a mostly positive community of folks who read one another’s writing. My ultimate goal of writing here, as opposed to a notebook, is to be read. That said, I am going to be okay if no one reads a single thing I’ve written during my personal challenge, nor will I be saddened if no one cheers me on. Like running, writing is ultimately a solitary activity. It’s not like football or the writing room where folks are busy pitching balls or words at one another.

• No fancy app or subscription-based coaching program is actually going to sit me down and write a lot.

I’ve given up on productivity apps. In fact, that ought to be my next article. As I’ve come to learn from running, no amount of gamification actually puts you on the treadmill or the track. At some point, the only way you achieve results is by putting the work in.

• It’s not going to look pretty.

The first time I started running, I was a sweating, gasping, flailing mess. I’ve improved since then.

I’ve chosen the medium of Medium because the stakes are significantly lower than, say, submitting a piece to the New Yorker. I’m my own journalist, editor, and publisher. Not all of what I’m going to submit is going to be brilliant. Because of the volume of articles I’ll be producing under a limited time constraint, most of what I write will be second or first drafts.

“Perfect is the enemy of the good,” as my good friend and running coach Voltaire used to say. The point of this exercise is to be comfortable with “good enough” and not let perfectionism stand in the way of ever achieving anything.

• Goals need to be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound).

I hate SMART goals because they reek of HR-speak. But the system works. When I set out to achieve my running goal, I decided upon a specific and measurable target that was achievable, relevant to me, and time-bound. It was within my ability to eventually run a 10K in an hour within a year’s time. For other more seasoned runners, that time is quite average. Likewise, I think it’s quite reasonable to achieve a 1,000 word-per-day goal. I’ve written much more in the past, and in the future, I expect to write far more than that.

• Wanting to Want It

It’s not enough for a goal to be SMART for it to become a habit. It must also be sustainable. And for it to be sustainable, it must have some relevance in one’s life. There have been — and there will be — days where my brilliant idea for a topic, when once committed to page, will turn out to be the most disappointing thing ever written. On those days, I’ll feel like never writing a single word again. Yet, I know that there will also be really great days when the words flow easily, and it will feel like I am merely taking dictation from the gods. The difference between those two days is the knowledge that both types of day exists, but that writing is its own reward.

I want this because . . .

• If my Meyers-Briggs results were accurate and Meyers-Briggs has any value, I am an INFP, and for folks like me, writing is simply a compulsion.
• Writing is one of the better ways I am able to communicate with others.
• Talking on Medium is ultimately more meaningful and rewarding than talking on microblogging sites.
• Reading is grand, but it is also a passive activity, and every article or book I read only reminds me that I should be writing and contributing to the conversation.
• If I can succeed at this, then I can expect to succeed when the stakes are raised.

The Rules

The rules I’ve set for myself are simple:

• At least one 1,000-word article per day for a total of 30,000 words in November (about 1/3 the length of an average novel)
• Publication once a week (providing me with ample time to edit, add graphics, and make each article sparkle, but also not so much time to give me cold feet)

End Result — What do I expect?

In the end, I don’t expect to maintain an article/day habit. What I do expect is that I will overcome the stifling desire for perfection that prevents me from writing and publishing entirely. This exercise isn’t about producing memorable texts that will enable me to live long after I have passed away — I’m going to be as frivolous as I want to be — this is about me overcoming the fear of having my work read and judged to be inadequate. I’ll improve my ability to write well using impromptu topics. Through this process, I expect to discover techniques that work well for me, and others that don’t. I’ll eventually develop habits that enable me to commit to longer and more personally meaningful forms of writing. And with any luck, I may also find myself engaging with other members of the writing community. As with running, I’ll hate the days I’m not writing, and long for engaging on longer and longer journeys.