The Trendsetter

What does playing sports have to do with writing a novel you may ask? After all, sports are physical activities, and writing is mostly mental. The only limbs writers move are their fingers, when they are on the keyboard, and their jaws, when they munch down cookies. However, a writer can relate to athletes who endure training to prepare for the competition with one goal in mind: winning. Plus, paraphrasing Yogi Berra, 99% of the game is 50% mental. A writer or novelist also has one goal in mind: to complete the novel.

What writers can learn from sports?

• A high level of self-discipline. To complete your novel, you need to maintain self-discipline to write everyday. If you have set a schedule to write, say four hours a day, stick with it. An athlete who wants to compete in a marathon will train everyday, to prepare for the big day;

• Mental toughness. As a writer, it is difficult to write when life gets in the way. In order to complete your writing task, learn to put any obstacle aside or block it out, and continue to write as per your schedule. For an athlete, sports involve mental toughening as a form of training in order to work thorough all the obstacles and play successfully to win;

• Focus. Don’t stray from your plot or go off on tangents. This is important if you want to finish your novel. In sports, it is essential for athletes to concentrate on the game and strategize all aspects in order to win;

• Stay healthy. As a writer, your need to have a healthy diet to boost your brain functioning and to keep your body fit. Athletes need to eat healthy to maintain their stamina;

• Keep an open mind. Completing a novel and failing to secure a publishing contract is seen as a failure. An athlete has trained for months, yet losing the game to another is difficult. Just like sports, writing a novel, is a game for those who wish to get publish. Winning and losing are the results that need to be accepted with an open mind;

• Awards. When you completed your writing, you will be awarded with a completed manuscript. You have achieved your goal, and this will play as an intrinsic reward to boost your confidence as a writer. An athlete who won will be rewarded with a trophy or money and respect.

Here are three books to motivate you to write and complete your novel:

1. Finding Your Zone: Ten Core Lessons for Achieving Peak Performance in Sports and Life

2. Mind Gym : An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence

3. Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else

(See all Personal Transformation Books)

Reading these books helps you to see the tasks necessary to complete a novel from a different perspective, and each can be used as a source of motivation for writers.

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