Your Best Writing Resource
Out of all the resources you will find here, the one that you should nurture, pamper and take care of the most is… You.
You are your most important resource.
- Exercise: Adequate exercise (even if it’s only that morning or evening walk).
- Food: Eat as healthy as you can afford. You don’t have to go off the deep end on diet, just moderate your intake. Otherwise you will find yourself sitting on those unburned calories!
- Snacks: We’ve all done it at one point or another, Roasted nuts, Sweets, Coke or Pepsi, Tea or Coffee. All in moderation. If you find yourself needing frequent and massive snacks, check and see if any of the other items listed here are out of whack. Most likely one or more are needing attention or moderation.
- Breaks: If you find yourself sitting for long hours doing research, typing that scene that just can’t wait, editing that frustrating paragraph that just doesn’t do it for you… Get up! Walk around. Move.
If you seem to always get lost in what you are doing, get a timer. Set it for an hour, put it where you have to get up to turn the blasted thing off.
- Sleep: Everybody has their own threshold of sleep need. I survive perfectly on six hours of sleep. You will have to find your perfect ideal. Too much and your body will get lethargic, too little and those neurons won’t click, aim, or fire the way you want them to. The hardest thing I faced in this category is getting my sleep patterns out of whack. Writing all night, just because everything is quiet, no phone ringing, no kids asking, no family dropping in, no to-do list haunting.
- If you will be a serious writer, you will have to discipline yourself to have a place and time to write that belongs only to you. It’s okay to be selfish about this. If it’s your job, then treat it as such and respect your talent. You might even have to train others to respect this also.
