Performance-enhancing drugs

I see in both Olympic athletes and writers the need and importance of positive reinforcement and encouragement from the system. Maybe you like gymnastics but If you're not showing enough skill, then you won't be attracting the top coaches, and you won't make it to the Olympics.

As a writer, you need to be seeing some small victories such as contest wins or placements, positive feedback from teachers, writing groups, workshops, zines, editors (who you're not paying). You don't have to make it the Olympics of writing (NYT bestseller, Booker Prize, etc.), there can be success at different levels. But you need to get some kind of success, however small, or you're not listening to the advice you've been given.

Big difference between the two paths: most people know that they cannot be an Olympic athlete.

How can an author "train"? By reading, first and foremost. By writing and re-writing, revising and polishing. By listening to instructors and receiving critiques and trying new things.

No, writing is not a science, but what the great athletes do isn't science either–otherwise there would be a lot more of them at the top.

Becky

http://sandradbricker.blogspot.com

I compared the focus of your writing to an Olympic athlete in training. Basically, a swimmer who doesn't make the team doesn't just turn and say, I think I'll ski down that mountain instead. As WRITERS, we want to write everything. But as AUTHORS, we tend to gravitate toward a brand. For me it's romantic comedy; for others it might be suspense,literary fiction or perhaps cozy mysteries.

I think one of the ways the truly greats get to be great is that they listen to their teachers and those who came ahead of them. When they get feedback, they listen to what is said, refrain from taking it as an insult, absorb the information, and apply it. When a coach tells an athlete they they can perform better if they do x,y,z, the athlete doesn't take it personally. They know that the coach is giving them information to make their performance better.

I think writers should do this with information given to them by agents or editors. If an editor wants to cut a scene, and you think it's essential, ask yourself "Did I convey what I needed to convey in this scene?" Absorb the information, apply it, and make your manuscript better.

Did I just get on a soap box?

2) I've learned that there is more subjectivity in writing than in most sports (minus ice skating, etc…)

3) The most disheartening thing that I've learned is that I've put all of this time and effort into the genre of fantasy, which seems to be the sports equivalent of ping pong. In other words, very few people are interested in it. However, I press on and write on in the genre that I enjoy, always chasing the dream.

My old high school coach would always tell us "No matter how hard you work, there is always someone working harder," and I took that to heart. As a competitive person, I always want to be the best, and I work VERY hard every day because I always want to be the best at what I do.

Sports taught me that drive, and even though I don't play competitively anymore I still try to outwork everyone, every day. The only difference is now I'm writing instead of throwing a baseball.

-Ken

Athletes have relatively short, fast paced careers that often lead to mild success then burned-out retirement. Writers may or may not have long term careers, may have varying degrees of success, and often fade away or write until old age.

Athletics, by its nature, requires the participant to be young, strong, and flexible. Writing takes a maturity that is often only honed later in life and extends far into our twilight years. We have the ability to take more time in completing our “training.”

If we have a bomb of a book, we can dust ourselves off and try again. That isn’t always the case for an Olympic athlete. Many sports for the Olympics are one-shot deals. If they don’t get the gold, they don’t always get to try again.

As for similarity – dedication and hard work are both obvious. The requirement of a strong support group is paramount. Success can be fleeting (the advantage we have is that it doesn’t have to be).