Muscle Memory

Being involved with martial arts has made me view many things very differently - not just my physical abilities, but other, everyday tasks, too. One action in particular is the building and usage of muscle memory. Teaching my muscles to perform the same techniques over and over and over again can, at times, seem boring. In the end though, when confronted or taken by surprise, my muscles will remember what to do, and they will perform without me taking extra time to think about it. But only if I've taken time to practice.

As life has kept me away from writing as much as I want (or as much as I should), I have begun to realize the importance of "muscle memory" within my writing. When writing every day, my mind remains fresh. I am able to stretch my imagination further and train myself to think creatively and out of the box. One might think in order to maintain sanity, a break would be necessary. And sometimes that's true. But as a general rule, a writer must write...and write...and write. Not only to simply get all those thoughts that are dying to be shared down on paper, but also to remain in the habit of forming words out of the intangible plots that flow through one's mind.

I often fail at this practice. I usually have a good excuse, no doubt. Right now, I'm settling into a new apartment. With everything involved in packing, moving and unpacking (on top of life's normal roller coasters), it's a wonder I have any sanity left at all. Sometimes my excuse is writer's block - a very real complication. Sometimes my excuse is health-related. But with all my great reasons for not sitting down at my keyboard, I still need to make time to write. Just one paragraph. Even one sentence! I'm preaching to myself here, but it's a good reminder for any writer. For when we fail to write...fail to practice...fail to continually stretch our imagination...our creativity grows stagnant. We forget how to make time. We forget the joy of accomplishing a written task. We forget how to relate to our fictional characters. We become rusty in a very short amount of time. Without continually building the "muscle memory" of writing often, those writing "muscles" forget how to function.

The theory of muscle memory can be applied to many aspects of life. I've just chosen to relate it, here, to writing. As in my martial arts training where I practice techniques over and over, so too, do I need to keep up with my writing skills, lest I forget. Writing should remain a habit. A reflex. A thought process that is continually used.