by Rachel D. Russell, @RDRussellWrites

In the cover of early morning darkness, I sat in my car, staring at the windowless building. Large, roll-up shop doors lined the entire length of it except for one, single man-door. Snow fell like soft whispers in stark contrast to what I knew lay inside the corrugated metal walls and chain link fence. I swallowed the lump of fear in my throat.

The clock turned over. My moment of reckoning came. I abandoned the security of my getaway vehicle and gripped the cold doorknob, uncertain the totality of horrors awaiting me. I forced myself inside. Onto rubber mats. Surrounded by barbells. Manilla ropes. Rings. Medicine balls. Rowing machines.

I did not belong there.

A solitary trainer stood, writing on a large dry erase board. Not another soul in sight. The door slammed shut behind me and she turned, her eyes locking onto me.

Too late to run.

And she smiled. Warm, welcoming. The door behind me burst open and the morning crew began piling in, pressing me further from the door.

A new fitness journey began.

Three months later, I can find the humor in my ridiculous mindset. How I almost let my fear of failure override my try. But, don’t we do that in our writing, too? Become paralyzed? Let uncertainty grip us? Convince ourselves we don’t belong?

The lessons I’ve learned through my morning struggles in the gym have not only helped my physical body; they’ve changed how I write.

1.) Step outside your comfort zone.

If you can’t tell from this story already, I’ll say it outright. I was afraid to show up at the first class. Maybe even terrified. Of what? The unknown. Being lost. Being out of my league. Being a failure. It sounds a lot like the early days of my writing life. Or, any random day in my writing life.

2.) Let it be hard.

That’s how you grow. Every single one of my fellow class members had a first day, first week, first month. Even those with experience have weaknesses. Every published author had to sit down and start. No one became an expert overnight. With rare exceptions, they wrote terrible nonsense. Edited. Rewrote. Learned. If it were easy, everyone else who wants to write a novel would have done so by now.

3.) Lean into the community.

Ask for help. I can’t tell you how often I stare at the dry erase board (still!) at the gym and ask, “What does that mean?” Or, “How do I do that?” If you get stuck in your writing, ask a mentor, critique partner, or other knowledgeable sources to get you back on track. Attend conferences and make connections.

4.) Don’t compare where you are to where the others are.

You have to start where you are. Isn’t it easy to pick up a novel and wonder how you’ll ever get to that point? Or see the long list of completed works by someone and compare it to your first draft you are working on? Be where you are and move forward from there.  

5.) Do the next thing.

This is the single biggest takeaway. It’s easy to look at writing a novel and get bogged down in how big an undertaking it really is. In the same way, if I were to overthink my workouts, I’d go crawling back home. But you know what? All I have to do is the next thing.

I made a choice that morning. And, as hard as the workout was– and we’re talking lungs-on-fire hard– I pretty much felt like I conquered the world by 6:30 a.m. The feeling doesn’t last forever, but as long as I show up, I can keep putting one foot in front of the other. Do the next thing.

Like writing. Facing the blank page. Showing up. Write the next sentence. Paragraph. Scene. Chapter. Finish the book. Enjoy the sense of accomplishment, wherever you are at, then start the next thing. Appreciate the process as well as the completion.

The Ultimate Wellness Journal for Women

This isn’t another diet and exercise journal. If you’ve struggled with weight gain, irritability, fatigue, insomnia or other symptoms, it’s important to track lifestyle factors that affect our hormonal and metabolic processes. Use this journal to start listening to your body and discovering correlations between a variety of lifestyle factors and your symptoms. This eight-week comprehensive journal will help you track your patterns in sleep, non-exercise activity, exercise, body temperature, nutrition, mood, light, and more.

Rachel D. Russell writes contemporary inspirational romance filled with action and adventure. Set in Oregon, her stories incorporate the diverse and rugged landscape of the state and focus on redemption, hope, and healing. She’s enjoyed a long career in the federal government and has also become a prolific freelance writer and novelist. Rachel graduated from Southern Oregon University with a Bachelor of Science in biology, chemistry minor. She draws on her previous law enforcement experience and her love of the outdoors to craft her stories.  Rachel lives in Oregon with her husband and sons. Her hobbies include horseback riding and holistic health. Learn more about her writing journey and upcoming books at RachelDRussell.com. You can also connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and here wellness blog SoulSparkPublication.com.