I’m rushing through this week’s mashup because I have (another) new project that will be taking up some time for the next five months — I’m training for a half-marathon. Yes, a half-marathon. That would be 13.1094 miles. No, I am not a runner. At least I haven’t been since I was in my thirties, and even then, I only ran 5Ks. (Okay, okay, I ran-walked.) Am I crazy? Perhaps. Only time will tell.
But when my daughter-in-law, Emily, told me running a marathon was on her bucket list, I admitted it’s also been on mine. Before I knew it, she’d invited me to run in the Dallas Marathon on December 9, and I ACCEPTED! I’m thrilled, nervous, sick-to-my-stomach, aching-just-thinking-about-it, determined. Today we begin training together, at least virtually. If you would like to follow our trials and tribulations, follow us at:
http://runnersinlaw.wordpress.com/
Perhaps with enough followers, the embarrassment of failure will be a motivator. Hey, we’ll take any form of motivation we can get to finish every . . . last . . . step . . . of that 13.1094 miles.
So, on to writerly tasks:
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Joe Moore
Two magic words. That’s how Joe Moore describes “what if” in his post, “Magic Words” on the fantastic blog, Kill Zone. Bestselling author, Jodi Thomas, first introduced me to those two words while I was writing The Red Kimono. I often used them as I “talked” to my characters about their stories. Have you used “what if” to create or deepen stories?
http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2012/06/magic-words.html
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Joanna Penn
I’ve spotlighted posts from Joanna Penn’s The Creative Penn blog in the past, but here’s something new and spectacular I found on her blog–Podcasts for writers. I’ve listened to a few of them, and they are full of excellent information. Ms. Penn also provides companion write-ups for the podcasts. You’ll definitely want to have a listen.
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/
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Ali Luke
On the blog, Write To Done, Ali Luke posts the article, “Five Common Writing Mistakes That Authors Make.” I know I’m guilty of a few of these, namely #1, Missing Out Calls to Action and #5, Being Too Wordy. How about you?
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Love this week’s lineup of links. I am not jealous at all of your marathon adventure, though. I only run when something scary is chasing me and omg it would have to be REALLY scary to get me to run that far!! Good luck to you. I’ll root for you from the virtual sidelines 🙂
Ha! I don’t blame you at all, Madison! I question my sanity at times. 🙂
Hi Jan, Thanks for the shout out and I’m so glad you enjoy the site and the podcasts. On running, I have done a few half marathons – a few years ago now! Have you read Haruki Murakami ‘what I think about when I think about running’. Pretty interesting for writers & runners. All the best with it!
Thank YOU, Joanna, for all of the great information you share with writers. I haven’t read any of Murakami’s writing on running, but I will look for it. Thanks!
Great mashup, Jan. Thanks for sharing this information.
I believe that you’ll find an added benefit to running. Once you get into the habit you’ll find that about 30 minutes into your run that you’ll get a lot of ideas about whatever writing project you’re working on. It’s almost like meditation. Just be sure to wear good socks and shoes!
Thanks, Denton. I must admit, even though I was bored while I ran, it felt good to work unused muscles. 🙂 I’m kind of sore today though.
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