Horses + Writing Parallels

This post is all about how owning horses has taught me writing skills. You may wonder how these two hobbies of mine can relate to each other, but surprisingly, owning horses can teach you a lot... but in this post we are going to be focusing on how they have taught me skills needed in writing. 

So here is five facts and parallels to horses and writing! 

• Horses Fact One: Having a horse to care for every single day helps me have the skills to work a schedule and prioritize my time.  Nope, I'm no expert on time management, but everyone has 24 hours in a day, hours that fill up fast if you don't have a plan of action. Owning horses, there is chores to be done in the morning and at night. The responsibility with horses is, they gotta eat, they gotta have water, they gotta have lots of things to keep them healthy. As a horse owner, time must be spent caring for (Rosie) and I can't wake up one morning and decided I don't want to do my horse chores.
• Writing Parallel One: As a writer, we have a job to form words and sentences worth reading. Thus needing to know how to work a schedule is important. The pages won't fill up on their own. Just like Rosie won't feed herself hay. There must be a effort on out part to actually make time to write. I often treat writing as a hobby instead of a priority. And that just won't cut it if I want to see process in my WIP's. That's why, like horses have physical needs, writers who are serious about their work need to move their writing times to have a specific regimen. We need to find structure to our creative process and actually put in the hours. 

• Horse Fact Two: When you get bucked off, you dust yourself off and hop right back on. I was once told that if you get bucked off more than four times, your a real cowgirl. Welp, I earned that title for sure. But as a "true cowgirl" I also know that it is crucial to get back up on that silly horse, otherwise you teach your horse how to push your buttons and scare you off next time. True cowgirls don't stay down for long, they dust themselves off and try again.
• Writing Parallel Two: Writing is no walk in the park if you know what I mean. Every writer has their story. Maybe they lost their hard-worked-for WIP when their computer crashed. Maybe they got some bad feedback that was no help to their writing journey whatsoever. Maybe they reworked their first draft so many times the story doesn't seem to work no matter what they try. Maybe they get discouraged when they read what they've written and feel it won't measure up. Maybe they are scared to get back into writing after a long break because they fear they have lost whatever it takes to be a "true writer." I don't know your story, but as true writers, it's up to us to dust ourselves off and try again. But just because you've had one--or four--bad experiences with writing, that doesn't mean you should give up. If anything, it should make you stronger, more determined!

• Horse Fact Three: Horses are herd animals, they don't like to be by themselves. If you separate a horse herd, they will let you know their disapproval by running, pacing, and calling to their friends. (Trust me, you don't want to deal with a buddy sour horse.)
• Writing Parallel Three: With writing, we also need a support system. If we don't have our "herd" to encourage us, cheer us on, share their virtual writing inspiration aka *chocolate* with us, then writing can be very boring and the writer can get very lonely.

• Horse Fact Four: Horses come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Duh. Yeah, but srsly, no horse is identical to the next. There are so many breeds such as Morgans (Rosie is a Morgan), Quarter Horses, Arabians, Palominos, Paints, Clydesdales, ETC! Then of course there are colors such as Chestnut (Rosie is a chestnut), Dun, Bay, Flea Bitten Gray, Black, Grulla, ETC!
• Writing Parallel Four: As I demonstrated above, there is a lot of different kinds of horses. Like horses, there is a lot of different kinds of writing. I can't even name off all the different types of genres! My favorites are Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Christian Fiction, Mysteries, Westerns, and Non-Fiction. Also, we haven't even started on how writing styles vary. All this to say, there is no cookie-cutter way to write a book. As writers, we have to find a written style that works best for us. (And further, as readers, we have to find a genre that works for us.) Writing is customizable. Some people find that they are plotters, some pantsers, some plantsers, some snowflakers (plz someone tell me they know what I'm rambling abt!) And that what makes being a writer/reader so great, finding what works best and making it your own. Plus, one way of doing things might not work for the next person, one genre might not work for you that works for me. That's just what makes the writing world go 'round...

• Horse Fact Five: Horses have a mind of their own. Especially Rosie, lol. Rosie gives me a run for my money sometimes. If I want her to go one way, she will make up her mind to go the opposite way. Let me just say, wrestling with a 1,000 pound animal has slim odds of winning. But, with time, horses can be trained to get on the same page with their rider. (Me and Rosie are still working on that *winks*)
• Writing Parallel Five: Plot bunnies! Plot bunnies are story ideas that won't go away. They are often times taking your attention away from your current WIP. Or maybe they are just a new scene that goes way differently than how you originally wrote it. I have a whole rabbit farm of plot bunnies...jk jk. But, with practice, your plot bunnies and unruly characters will get on the same page (literally) with their writer! See what I just did there...I just love play on words!

What did you think of this post? How is your writing going? Do you fancy yourself as a writer, or cowgirl, or both, or neither? Comment below!

Many Blessings,

Brooklyne Elysse