Jogging v. Novelwriting

Russian translator Kevin Kinsella compares jogging to novel writing:

In addition to killing a couple of morning hours, jogging so regularly lends me a bit of respectability otherwise sorely lacking in my life. When someone learns of my early morning regimen, I like to think that they say, ?Wow, Kevin?s really got his act together!? Of course they?d be mistaken, but sometimes I even fall for it myself. At the end of a day spent watching too much television, surfing the Internet, or otherwise procrastinating when I should be working, writing, or doing something of some value to myself and others, I can tell myself ?At least you went for a good long run. Don?t be so hard on yourself.

“I employ the same strategy when I tell someone I?m writing a novel. It seems to have the same effect. When someone learns that you?re writing a novel, it?s not so much important that you actually finish it or do any real writing. The simple fact that you have this mammoth project looming large in your life is impressive enough and often comes off as rather admirable. So after a weekend of spending far too much money on drinks and ultimately making an utter fool of myself, when asked about what I did, I can honestly say, ?I got together with friends and went running?oh, and then there?s the novel?.? A winning trinity: the impression of friends, health, and the solitary labor of the writer.


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