Playing Through the Pain

I was 15 in the summer of 1996 when the Olympics were held in Atlanta, GA. A lifetime fan of the sporting event, I watched those games religiously. 1) Because they were held in the US and therefore I got to see a lot of the events live. And 2) Because I had always loved the beauty, artistry and strength that combines to form an Olympic gymnast, and in 1996 the American girls were a strong contender for the gold.

I devoured every scrap of information I could gather about these girls who were dubbed The Magnificent 7. Today I can still recite lines from Dominique Moceanu's autobiography. So, by the time the Atlanta games rolled around, I felt as if I knew these girls. Their struggles, their pain, and their ultimate triumph moved me to tears.

For me, there will never be a more powerful or enduring symbol of strength  and courage then the moment Kerri Strug landed her vault on a broken ankle. I could see the pain in her eyes, the tears threatening to fall, but behind it all I saw her determination. It wouldn't have mattered if someone had come along and severed her foot from her leg. She was sticking that landing.

As writers I believe there are a lot of times when we too must play through the pain. I've personally spent most of this week with an aching in my heart. It's broken. Shattered. But still, I write. I have to. I can't afford to squander the few precious moments I have in which to do what I love.

I can't say that it doesn't color my writing somewhat. I'm not the same person I was last week. The girl I was long gone and nearly forgotten. But I've grown. And our lives, our experiences, these are the things that ultimately lead us to our unique voice, so as a writer I've only gotten better.

It may not always be easy to write a love scene when you and your significant other have just finished arguing about which of you forgot to take out the garbage. Nor is it necessarily fun writing a happy ending when you've just buried a loved one. But we know that in order to be successful writers we have to write the story that needs to be told and we have to write every day.

We have no choice but to play through the pain. We must persevere. We must grit our teeth and stick that landing.


Have you ever had to play through the pain? Or can you completely separate your personal experience from the act of writing? What are some of the ways you get through it and continue to write?

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