Yes, I’m on deadline — several deadlines as a matter of fact.
I have two blog posts due tomorrow and I’m slogging away at a novella rewrite that’s due March 1.
Even so, here I sit with my TV tuned to the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Am I wasting my time? No, not at all.
I have no Olympian aspirations, but watching these athletes have taught me a few things that are transferable to the writing life. Here are three:
- You can’t wait for perfect conditions. The snowboarders griped about the bumpy half-pipe. The slalom run was slushy. And yet, the athletes competed. No waiting for a better day. And sometimes the lousy conditions ruined the competitors Olympic dreams. Snowboarder Shaun White failed at his pursuit to be a three-time gold medal winner. REALITY: The publishing industry is in flux right now … everyone’s looking for a new normal. And nobody can say what that’s going to look like. This is my time (and your time) as a writer. There is no waiting for perfect conditions.
- Prepare, Prepare, Prepare — and realize you still might not win. Olympic athletes train like maniacs. They focus on the gold — and sometimes settle for the silver or the bronze … or face the reality they aren’t going to step up on the winner’s platform at all. Professional athletes know how to win well … and they know how to lose well too. REALITY: I write the best book I can every time … and readers and reviewers decide to like it or not. I have to learn to keep my head and my heart in the right place and not let it be all about the win. (And maybe part of the “win” is keeping my head screwed on straight.)
- Celebrate Others’ Success. In the Olympics, it always comes down to the top three: gold, silver, bronze. Three spots means a lot of other athletes are excluded. Snowboarder Shaun White ended up in fourth place and came back and congratulated the gold medalist, hugging him and clapping him on the back. Any disappointment was put aside until later. REALITY: Disappointment happens in this business. A good friend (or friends) gets nominated for an award. I don’t. Ouch. But guess what? I choose to celebrate my friends and mute the disappointment. The jealousy. (Yep. Sometimes it’s plain old jealousy.)
What about you? Are you watching the Olympics? Learn any lessons that are transferable to the writing life?
For Writers: Three Lessons from the 2014 Winter Olympics Click to Tweet