Writing is like going to the gym

Prawn · Sep 27, 2007

I feel better if I do it everyday. I am stronger, feel more alive. If I take a few days off, I feel fusty, funky. Yet everyday there is the temptation to not do it, to get to it later, to put it on hold, just for today. And everyday I do that, it makes it easier to do the same thing the next day.

Does anyone else feel this way?

III · Sep 27, 2007

And it's always easier to just mess around in AW than to do either!

maestrowork · Sep 27, 2007

And the leotards don't look any better either way.

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 27, 2007

No. Because going to the gym makes me sweaty and smelly and tires me out and then all I want to do is take a nap.

I don't go to the gym. But I do write.

NicoleMD · Sep 27, 2007

If I went to the gym everyday, I would get burnt out after about a week. I think writing should be more like a dessert...okay to have a little bit each day, some days none at all, and every once in a while, put away a giant fudge drizzled piece of triple-chocolate cake with ice cream and caramel...and...and...whip cream...yeah. That sounds good.

Okay, now I feel like going to the gym.

Nicole

jennifer75 · Sep 27, 2007

I agree with the OP... I get pretty hot and sweaty when I write, especially when I'm writing bout the sexy stuff. hehe. Anybody else blushing? It's gettin hot in herrrrrrrr.

MidnightMuse · Sep 27, 2007

I occasionally write about people who go to the gym, does that count?

Claudia Gray · Sep 27, 2007

I enjoy writing. The gym, not so much!

mscelina · Sep 27, 2007

gym...gym....hmm.....no, I can't say I've ever heard of such a thing....

Siddow · Sep 27, 2007

Gym? I have a home gym in my basement and I've been there once.

Come to think of it, I have an unused office in the basement, too. Hmm. I think I require above-ground facilities.

Wraith · Sep 27, 2007

If you think about it, writing is like nothing else. Not like having babies. Not like talking to yourself in the dark (ok, maybe that one a little bit). Not like a drug, not like food or sports or living another life or what have you. It's a bit of all, but it's always just that, writing.

That said, i can understand how the comparison came along. It's nice if you're the gym type.

sneakers145 · Sep 27, 2007

I write because I have to. Someday I'll exercise.

Jamesaritchie · Sep 27, 2007

Gym

Wasn't it Shakar who said that when he missed practice, [FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman,serif]"I believe in the saying that if you miss one day, you notice it. If you miss two days, the critics notice it. If you miss three days, the audience notices it."

I think writing is a lot like this, just as going to the gym is much like this.
[/FONT]

scarletpeaches · Sep 27, 2007

I've never been to the gym in my life and I don't plan to any time this side of the 22nd century.

But writing? Love it.

MMWyrm · Sep 27, 2007

I've never been to a gym, so I couldn't comment on that. I just wish writing could help me lose weight.

Wintermule · Sep 27, 2007

Just so you know, you're supposed to go to the gym every other day to give your muscles a chance to rebuild and strengthen for the next workout. So...not so much.

Scrawler · Sep 27, 2007

Writing is more like exercise for me, rather than the gym. On the days I really don't want to do it, I end up feeling so much better once I do.

sassandgroove · Sep 27, 2007

Prawn said:
I feel better if I do it everyday. I am stronger, feel more alive. If I take a few days off, I feel fusty, funky. Yet everyday there is the temptation to not do it, to get to it later, to put it on hold, just for today. And everyday I do that, it makes it easier to do the same thing the next day.

Does anyone else feel this way?

That is so true!
Well, I don't go to the gym either, but I do (intend to) excercise daily, just at home.

Guy DaBored · Sep 27, 2007

Wintermule said:
Just so you know, you're supposed to go to the gym every other day to give your muscles a chance to rebuild and strengthen for the next workout. So...not so much.

This is so wrong...

First, if you're doing a full body workout and you can exercise again after one day off, you're not lifting hard enough.

Second, it's quite possible to do a split where you divide your body into muscle groups where you lift for a week in a row and have plenty of healing time for the individual muscle groups. For the sake of a person's central nervous system I wouldn't recommend this, but with a decent split it's the CNS that needs a day off to recover, not the muscles.

Third, what about cardio?

So...not so much.

Kudra · Sep 27, 2007

I've never been to a gym either. But I do exercise every day. At home. Sits-ups, crunches, etc. Yeah, baby. I'm a freak. I enjoy exercising.

You can hate me now.

melaniehoo · Sep 27, 2007

I agree with the OP. I miss my gym in Chicago and my only option here is running. Which I H-A-T-E. So I don't do it as much as I should. Maybe that would help my writing. Aha! New motivation.

And you can go to the gym every day as long as you're not working the same muscles, like Guy said. But I always do cardio.

KAP · Sep 27, 2007

I'll agree with the OP, too. I write hard in the mornings then go to the gym and think and reflect while I strain and sweat. It's amazing the little (and big) problems I realize while there. I rush home and fix them.

So I'm not very social at the gym, but folks get used to me being off in my own world. I have had people come over and ask if I've drifted off somewhere, making me I realize I've been standing or lying there for some time, hands wrapped around a barbell, ready to push or pull. What they don't know is: I probably just made my novel better.

I think I veered from the topic. Yes, I also feel better when I write and when I work out. I would have realized I veered from the topic earlier, but I already worked out today.

Soccer Mom · Sep 27, 2007

Good habits make things easier to do. Writing on a schedule. Work outs on a schedule. Same principle.

And I find that nothing helps me puzzle out a sticky plot point like a good run. Or watching a boring soccer game.

brokenfingers · Sep 27, 2007

Prawn said:
I feel better if I do it everyday. I am stronger, feel more alive. If I take a few days off, I feel fusty, funky. Yet everyday there is the temptation to not do it, to get to it later, to put it on hold, just for today. And everyday I do that, it makes it easier to do the same thing the next day.

An apt comparison. Writing works the brain muscle.

JasonChirevas · Sep 27, 2007

Prawn said:
I feel better if I do it everyday. I am stronger, feel more alive. If I take a few days off, I feel fusty, funky. Yet everyday there is the temptation to not do it, to get to it later, to put it on hold, just for today. And everyday I do that, it makes it easier to do the same thing the next day.

Does anyone else feel this way?

I do, exactly.

-Jason

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