Every marathon is unique. You set out with rock solid plans of a grand finish then things you can’t control get in the way. It is the best microcosm of life I know. Despite uncertainty, you learn to challenge yourself, to push through tough bits and pull back when you are hobbled by the unexpected. But however long it takes to finish, whatever trips you up on the way, there is still the joy of finishing 42.2K. You develop a new respect for your body and learn to appreciate the adjustments your mind needs to make. And then you start to apply the lessons you have learnt to other parts of your life.
Whatever challenges you set yourself be they running, writing, study or becoming fitter and healthier, break each one into smaller achievable steps and celebrate every hurdle and every small goal along the way.
Life is a series of single days. You can only live one at a time. One run, one word, one moment. And don’t forget to celebrate every success and every failure. You learn just as much from both.
Writing Pearl Number Four
Sidestep rejection
In earlier newsletters, I detailed pearls number one to three and you can find these archived on my website. I adapted these writing pearls from a Chi running programme I participated in some years ago and still refer to it regularly.
Rejection is a heartsink word for a writer. It is just like a DNF (did not finish) next to your name after a running event where you trained hard and had high hopes.
Rejection translates in our heads as, my work isn’t good enough, I don’t write well enough, who am I to even call myself a writer?
The truth is every writer has rejections, even our favourite bestselling authors. Not everyone is going to like your work or perhaps, the piece you sent in wasn’t ready and needed editorial input. Before rejecting it yourself, give it to another writer to read and ask them to suggest how it can be improved. It may simply be that the competition or publication was a bad fit for your work.
I regularly send stories or pieces of fiction that have been rejected numerous times to different competitions or magazines or rewrite them and send them back to the same competition or magazine that previously rejected them. Many of these pieces are eventually accepted and published. Writing is ultimately subjective with the preferences of the judges or editor playing the major role in what is accepted.
This year, my writing group, Brisbane Scribes were invited to judge the Sydney Hammond Short Story Competition organised by Hawkeye publishing. One of our members, Jane Connolly, an experienced former judge of the Children’s Book Council Awards tabled the criteria we would use to determine the long list for 2023. Even with a formal guide, there was disagreement and heated discussion about which stories should be included. Every member of our group brought their own experience, their preferences, and opinions to the table. The outcome would have been different with a different group judging the competition.
The upside of rejection is that it is evidence you have the courage to send your work out to be scrutinised. I draw up a table each year to track what stories, poems, and non-fiction articles I send out to competitions and magazines. The final column notes whether the piece won, was accepted for publication, or rejected. And there are always more rejections than wins or acceptances.
Set yourself a doable goal to send out a set number of pieces per year. For example, five pieces of flash fiction for monthly competitions like Furious Fiction run by the Australian Writers Centre or Right Left Write by Queensland Writers Centre. Most of the stories I send in don’t list but I use them as the scaffolding for stories that go on to place in other competitions or become a scene in one of my novels. Perhaps your goal is to complete a first draft of a novel or to send out three pieces of non-fiction to your favourite magazine. Keep a list of what you send out to competitions or publications and when. Just seeing that list grow is immensely satisfying whatever the outcome.
We are told to be ruthless. Kill Your Darlings is the mantra of good writers. My little secret is that I never kill my darlings. I cut and past them into a folder called Bits and keep them on life support. Sometimes these bits make it back into another story or another scene. Other bits are used for some flash or poetry. A bit like harvesting organs. A bit macabre.
Almost always, I have found opportunities to use rejected words elsewhere. It may only be a line or the idea, but if those sad words are waiting patiently in a folder they can be retrieved if needed. And it can be encouraging to revisit something you wrote six months or six years ago and see how much you have improved.
The beauty of writing is that the process itself takes courage and like any creative endeavour has tremendous benefits for the author. It is like exercise. Sometimes the positive outcomes are the things that you don’t see. Your heart works more effectively, you become stronger, healthier and your risk of many diseases is reduced. Writing keeps your brain active and flexible, nurtures your soul, broadens your horizons, and feeds your imagination. You truly become a writer when you can’t help but continue to get your words down despite endless rejection. It reminds me of this powerful quote from To Kill a Mockingbird – where Atticus says real courage is ‘where you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway’.
GP Wisdom - Exercise
Last month I promised a few non-drug options for managing wellbeing and mental health. I will write a series of short pieces that will hopefully get you motivated to improve your overall health, defined by WHO as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.’
Imagine if there was a pill, with no side effects, that had the following benefits.
30% reduction in all-cause mortality
35% reduction in cardiovascular disease
40% reduction in diabetes
30% reduction in colon cancer
20% reduction in breast cancer
30% reduction in depression
30% reduction in dementia
68% reduction in hip fractures
There is no such pill, but these are the known benefits of regular physical activity based on research published by Department of Health United Kingdom in 2016 as part of their efforts to get every adult active every day.
A large meta-analysis of ten studies demonstrated that unfit individuals had twice the mortality of fit individuals. This occurred even if the fit individual was overweight or obese, highlighting that it is better to be fit and fat than normal weight and unfit.
That is startling, particularly given the far greater emphasis on weight loss than information about improving cardiovascular fitness.
Prescribing exercise is a challenge with so many of us too busy, too tired, or unmotivated. It is not as hard as you think. The greatest health benefits occur when an inactive person takes up small amounts of activity, in the range of 75-90 minutes per week. This alone results in a 15% reduction in mortality.
Start small. Get a watch or device that measures your steps daily. For the first week, see how many steps you accrue without changing anything. If you clock around 2,000 steps per day, aim to increase to 3,000 steps a couple of times per week. Break up your activity into small increments. Ninety minutes over seven days is 12.8 minutes a day. Aim to increase slowly and when you have a bad week, pull back. Remember any activity, including a stroll or some window shopping counts.
Choose a few things you enjoy. Dancing, gardening, swimming, cycling, or walking with a friend. Incorporate some incidental activity (walking to your café to get a coffee, taking public transport, walking around a gallery or a market) and keep a diary, electronic or paper to document your daily activity. It is satisfying to see positive changes week by week.
And remember the energy you expend when moving depends on how far you walk or run and your body weight. The good news is that if you are heavier, you use up more energy than your light-weight buddy going the same distance. Whether you walk or run five kilometres doesn’t matter. Walking the distance is as beneficial as running it, with exactly the same energy expenditure.
I get patients to set achievable goals, always keeping in mind that life happens. Your kids get sick, you end up doing overtime, become unwell or move house. Aim to be active three to five times a week. Don’t let your activity drop below three active episodes. A challenging week might just mean a short walk around the block, dancing around the house to three of your favourite songs or walking instead of driving to get your morning coffee. A good week might be two 5K runs, a Pilates class, playing in the pool with your kids and walking with a friend on the weekend. Just don’t go back to doing nothing at all. Have a baseline activity level. This is your treading water mode and keeps you sane and your body healthy while life throws you curved balls.
What I’m Reading
My Heart is a Little Wild Thing
This month, I’m going to review a book I read over a year ago because its words have stayed with me and I remember listening to the author, Nigel Featherstone talking about writing it at the Byron Bay Writers Festival, 2022.
When he sent his initial completed draft to his editor, their response was not encouraging. I remember Nigel using the world ‘terrible.’ He reshaped his idea and went through the laborious process of starting again, despite the disappointment of such unfavourable feedback. I know everyone who has read the final draft is delighted Nigel persisted in polishing his words and gifting his novel to the world.
The best ideas take shape gradually and are often organic, taking on a life of their own if nurtured and allowed to grow despite unfavourable conditions.
And I just adore the cover which I will share with you. If you have ever felt stifled by your family, longed for love or just the freedom to be yourself, dive into the pages of this rich work and immerse yourself.
