Yes, you did read that title properly. I did say that writing is a muscle. Has she finally lost the plot, you may ask?
Probably, but not because of that statement.
Building a muscle requires regular exercise. Working at it every day, and over time the muscle becomes stronger and the effort of exercising feels less difficult. You can do more than you could the day before. If you don’t put the effort in, then you won’t see improvement. You have to work at it mindfully and with passion, or nothing happens.
Worse, while it can take a long time to build strength into a muscle, it quickly dissipates if you stop exercising for a period of time.
That’s where the comparison of writing to a muscle starts to make sense.
Writing requires regular exercise. Working at it every day, and over time, you can write more and the effort feels less difficult. You can do more than you could the day before. If you don’t put the effort in, then you won’t see improvement. You have to work at it mindfully and with passion, or nothing happens.
Worse, while it takes a long time to build writing stamina and skill, it quickly dissipates if you stop writing for a period of time.
I haven’t really written anything since March this year when I released my latest book, The Body in the Building. I was pursuing some other interests that took my attention away from writing. As I try to start writing again now, I find that in the intervening time I have lost my writing stamina. The muscle needs exercising again.
It will take some time to build up the strength in my writing, but working at it every day and with passion, it will return as I work through writing my latest book.
It’s a challenge I am looking forward to.