Sunday, October 23, 2011

The First Ten Minutes


I’m not one of those people who loves to run, but because I play soccer it’s a necessary evil. What I find the most interesting when I run is that it’s the first ten minutes that’s the hardest not the last ten.

It takes me ten minutes to get into a rhythm and for my body to get used to the pounding. If I can make it past ten minutes then I can run for another forty or more.

I find the same thing with writing. It takes me at least ten minutes to get into a groove where I’ve blocked everything else out: my kids, the internet, the TV, the dirty dishes. Usually it's when the kids are in bed, the internet and TV are off and my house is clean that I can sit down with a clear mind. If I can get past that first ten minutes then I’m good to go and I can write for hours.

How about you do you have a hard getting started?

13 comments:

Miranda Hardy said...

Some days, yes. I do find getting started to be the most difficult, but then the words flow.

Laura Pauling said...

So true! With running and writing. Get over that hump and you're golden.

Wendy Paine Miller said...

Yep, I'm with you on both and I enjoy doing both. But there is that start up time where I have to warm up my muscles.
~ Wendy

i'm erin. said...

I agree, it is the first ten minutes. If I can push past that I'm golden. But it's the same when I'm working out.

LTM said...

LOL! Yep, that's me! Guilty on both counts--the running and the writing. :D It's the starting that's the hardest part!

Nancy Thompson said...

Hmm, well, I wouldn't say I have a hard time getting started, but once I do get going, the further along I get, the better I become. So in that way, yes, I'm definitely better after the first 10.

Now running? Yeah, that's a different matter entirely.

Jessie Humphries said...

Totally! I have to find my ZONE or else it just feels forced and not fun at all. I dont write begrugding it, I write cuz I love it. But if the kids are yanking at me, or the laundry is piled up in my face, or I have a zillion emails to check...then NO GO!

Stina said...

LOL This is why I start my run running downhill. :D

I do have a hard time getting started with my writing, but that depends on what I'm writing. If it's fiction and it's not based on someone's critique, then I'm pretty good at starting without an extra push. But once I get into the "zone", watch out! (Hmmm. I need a poster of that on my bedroom/office door.)

Angela Ackerman said...

This is so true, isn't it? Once I'm in the zone, I'm in the zone. :) But, if I run into a trouble scene, I start to fidget. Then I really have to force myself to keep going and NOT head onto the internet. LOL.

Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

Unknown said...

If only I could run for more than 10 minutes! LOL.
Okay, I get that it was a metaphor. But still. I wanna be a soccer mom like you! LOL

Anyway, yeah, sometimes that happens to me with writing! :D

ali cross said...

This is a fantastic analogy! And so, so true.

Carol Riggs said...

Great point--hardest thing to get started. With my exercising, true. With my HOUSEWORK, true. With my writing...I usually don't have trouble, unless there's something totally majorly wrong with my story and I'm dreading trying to fix it. :)

Jacqueline Howett said...

Maybe just some house-work helps!