16 December 2010. Novel writing is often described as running a marathon, suggesting that short stories are sprints, and perhaps novellas are 10ks. The analogy bears up well, as it takes a different set of skills to run a sprint verses a marathon as well as a short story verses a novel. The fundamentals are the same, but once you start adding the pages, the other elements become more apparent. This is one reason why authors, especially new authors, tend to fail—they're not mentally prepared for writing a major project. I've heard others suggest writing short stories first to master the fundamentals; but again the skills are different.

However, this article is not about skills in novel writing. There are thousands of books out there that do that—it's usually more profitable in the support activities than the risky activities. I'm talking about motivation and drive.

I submit to you, Reader, that novelists need to be widely read. We need to be able to bring to bear a large swath of knowledge to help build realism into our novels. That's my way of saying I receive a blog article a few times a week from Strong Lifts. To look at me, I am most certainly not applying the advice suggested.

The author of the site has said that he started out the quintessential weakling—determined to better himself after losing in an arm wrestling contest with a girl. If you look at him, he does not look like a dynamo; nor like the guy who can squat hundreds of pounds. But, that is what he does.

Having monitored his blog for a while, there's a key lesson for novelists. You hear about it frequently in the help-books, but it's always nice to hear it from another perspective. Hearing another discipline express the importance of self-discipline, drive, and grit.¹

Over the past few weeks, he has talked about Arnold Schwarzenegger; a name we all know. The reason why Arnold has been so successful is not because he is strong—but because he has strong willpower. He decides he wants something, and he does whatever it takes to get there. He's gone so far as to say he can tell when somebody won't make it because of how they reveal their willpower.

Today's Stronglifts Article involves when you don't want to lift. Just go ahead and insert your own “I don't wanna-ism”. Here is the problem statement:

He later said the only thing he has done right over the past 12 years of lifting was be consistent.

Rather than try to rephrase him, I'm again going to quote him:

Does this not sound like the advice we get as novelists? Don't stop writing; write regardless of whether you feel like it. Don't worry about the wordcount, but write! I have to remember to do that. Isaac Asimov wrote every day.

As a marathon runner, you won't always train in optimal conditions. As a novelist, you won't be able to write in optimal conditions, either. So, don't let that be your excuse.