Writing as Training
There are important parallels between training and writing that we tend to overlook. Like how we can train to become physically stronger, we can train to become a better writer. We can work out to improve our aerobic base, balance, endurance, strength , mileage, or vo2 max.
And we can train as writers in much the same way. The goal of writing should not simply be to write the article, book, blog post, newsletter, etc. We can — and should — write with a specific objective in mind: craft better topic sentences, be more persuasive, use active sentences that avoid “ing” verbs, edit more effectively, use one word instead of two, confront the blank page, and so on. We can constantly improve. We can write more clearly and concisely.
Athletic training is all about consistency and incremental improvement. The goal is simple: train frequently and become 1% better. Slowly build strength. Overcome inertia and procrastination.
The same is true for writing. We can build a practice around writing and we can aim to reach specific daily goals: write 1,000 words each day, fill in footnotes, improve our editing skills, and be more persuasive. These are just some examples. And there are many more.
Writing and training are not easy and they do not become easier; we become better writers and stronger athletes.
But we need to train so that we can improve our weaknesses as writers and turn them into strengths.
Why don’t we do this? I believe that we fail to distinguish between two concepts (or perhaps do not even consider them). There is a crucial distinction between exercise and training. Exercise is physical activity without specific goals or objectives. In contrast, training is targeted and aims to achieve particular outcomes. And training is also about the process: discipline, consistency, and incremental improvement.
The mistake is that we may approach writing as exercise rather than as training. Like how we exercise to finish exercising and feel good, we write to finish writing, and think little about how we can improve our weaknesses and become better writers.
Once we view writing as training, we can begin to target specific aspects of our writing to become better writers; we can train rather than exercise.
What does this look like? We can write with a particular goal in mind: increase daily output from 500 to 600 words (increase volume), remove as many superfluous words as possible (increase efficiency), be more persuasive (increase strength) focus on active language (increase stability).
And how can we do this? We can read others’ writing to see how they write persuasively, construct their introductions, use topic sentences, and advance their arguments. We can read for more than substance; we can read like we are training. Much like athletes watch hours of tape and learn from their colleagues and competitors, we can learn from others’ excellent writing.
We can read books or essays on writing. The book “On Writing Well” helped me a lot and taught me to notice my writing mistakes.
And we can look back at our writing session to see how we can improve going forward. Where did we waste time? Why didn’t we write more actively in earlier drafts? Did we mix the writing and editing phases, or did we separate them? Which words do we tend to repeat?
If we care about writing and want to improve, we can — and should — treat writing like training.
