What Do Golf and Writing Have In Common?
I’m totally a new-be at writing. I didn’t think it was going to be hard. I’m not so new at golfing, but when I started golfing I didn’t think it was going to be hard.
Wrong on both accounts.
I’ve heard people say, “How hard can golf be? All you’re doing is hitting a little white ball with a stick on carpet like grass. All you need to do is get the little ball into a big hole. How hard is that?
Likewise, I’ve heard people say, “What’s taking you so long to write your book? All you have to do it get your thoughts down on paper and submit it to a publisher to get it printed.
Ha!
Both golf and writing take time.
There’s a learning curve.
You have to dedicate time and have patience.
You can’t give up when you get frustrated.
You have to want to accomplish your goal and keep at it.
You can hack away at a golf ball and you can hack away at words on a typewriter or computer. Neither will make you good at what you’re doing. Lots of people start golfing and/or writing and give up when the going gets tough.
To be a good golfer you have to take lessons, listen to the professionals and practice.
To be a good writer you have to take classes, listen to the professionals and practice.
I’m doing both. My golf game has improved over time. My writing has improved over time.
When I get tired of golfing, I write.
When I get tired of writing, I golf.
I found the following piece of writing encouragement on Literary Agent, Rachelle Gardner’s blog last week.
We can, as writers, still count on Flaubert to urge us onward, to show us that what we’re doing is worth the blood, sweat, and tears. Once, when Oscar Wilde was asked what he had done that day, he said, “I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.”
http://www.rachellegardner.com/
What is your most frustrating experience with writing or golfing? Let me know, by leaving a comment.
Now this is my most frustrating comment! I typed this twice before realizing I hadn't signed in. Must be the second glass of wine. Hopefully, third time is a charm.
ReplyDeleteMy most frustrating experience playing golf was a round in Scotland several years ago with a Scottish coworker after a day of meetings at the factory. The course was very rural, meaning that it was basically a sheep pasture with fairways mowed through it. My shots were consistently landing in 3 feet of tall grass, lost forever. The saving grace to the round was the wonderful companionship of my friend John Caldwell, with the envious 5 handicap. Oh well, as they say, "The worst day of golf is better than the best day of work."
The most difficult thing about writing for me was when I wrote under contract and had deadlines to meet! It's a lot more fun now when I simply write to share with my family.
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