Every Second Counts

STAMINA

ENDURANCE

DISCIPLINE

These are the mantra words of the Marathon Runner, the Triathlete, the woman who walks to the North Pole dragging a sled.

And may I suggest, the Fiction Writer.

It may take someone two to three years of solid training to become fit enough to physically run 26 and a bit miles.

It takes a lifetime of training to write fiction. Or at least create fictional worlds and characters that others may actually want to buy and read - starting with your editor and publisher.

I have met many university students who believe with all their heart that the passion they have for words will make them successful commercial fiction writers - after all, it has to be easier than literary fiction, hasn't it?

Any maybe they have a point- Passion. Obsessive desire. Absolute confidence.

You can't buy those and you can't fake them.

Every Second Counts is the title of Lance Amstrong's autobiography on his early life and how he overcame multiple cancers to win the Tour de France so many times.

The man in this book is someone who cannot sit still. Cannot rest. Who is always looking for the next way to train, to improve his performance, his game. He wants to be the best he can be.

AND EVERY SECOND COUNTS.

" When you think you're off track, refocus on where you've come from and what it's taken to get to where you are today. Focus on the great achievements you've made, the milestones and reach within and feel those successes. All that matters is getting back on track and turning that dream into your reality."*

*Written in 2007 by Kimerly Adamson --- New Zealand