Haruki Murakami on Mental and Physical Stamina

In an Art of Fiction interview, the novelist, Harukami Murakami describes his workday:

When I’m in writing mode for a novel, I get up at four a.m. and work for five to six hours. In the afternoon, I run for ten kilometers or swim for fifteen hundred meters (or do both), then I read a bit and listen to some music. I go to bed at nine p.m. I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind. But to hold to such repetition for so long — six months to a year — requires a good amount of mental and physical strength. In that sense, writing a long novel is like survival training. Physical strength is as necessary as artistic sensitivity.

In the past, I sometimes would skip my workouts when work got busy. But physical stamina and mental stamina are interconnected. We can only push ourselves mentally when we push ourselves physically as well.

October 8, 2024


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