Sunday, December 1, 2024

thoughts for young writers, part 2

You don't have a body, you are a body. You are also a mind. Writing is the mind's activity, but without the body being aligned with the mind, you won't write well. Or, you'll struggle to write well. You might feel unwell, unbalanced. You might feel very heady, very thoughtful, but also vaguely ill, slightly sick, always thinking, never stopping. 

Find a way to be active. Make your mind fit and make your body fit. Both should be trained to a certain degree. 

Rest your body well and in the same way, rest your mind. Both should be rested well. 

Rest and train, rest and train, both body and mind. 

What I do: I run twenty miles a week, lift weights twice a week, play tennis, play soccer. 

Don't be afraid of being an athlete or being physically active. Don't view it as somehow less than "writing." You may not naturally be a great athlete, but there are things you can do to be a physically active person, and this activity will balance the activity of your mind. Eventually, you'll stop viewing them as separate systems. 



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