Saturday, June 19, 2010

Aspiring Advice: Writing? Exercise!

I almost completely forgot to write this week's column! Maybe it's because I'm a little stretched on something to say and I don't want to bring up a repeat. Then I had it, an experience worth mentioning. A couple months ago, I heard David Farland say at a conference that writers should "exercise," and not just in the writing sense. I think there's merit to that. Not just writers, but for everyone. Physical exercise is important.

I'll admit not being the perfect model of physical fitness for some time, now that I have a rather sedentary job. Years ago, I used to swim, swim and swim; four hours a day throughout high school. Now with a job and a family to provide for, spending as much time with them as possible, getting to the gym is more impossible than a hassle. However, after a solid year of practically no exertion,  I've become lethargic in body and mind. Lately, it's taken effect on my writing, even my drive to want to write. So I looked for a public outdoor pool, bought a pass, and re-acquainted myself with the water for a good two hours. I didn't even swim laps really, just floated like a log in a bayou. What happened next turned out to be quite the surprise. I felt energetic, thirsty, and motion, like the momentum of a rock tumbling downhill. The amount of chores I accomplished afterward were far more than I usually volunteer for, from cleaning tubs to scrubbing away five-year-old bug guts from my front bumper. I had motivation to do things that I'd been meaning to do for a long time.

And the writing bug hit hard in the form of a completely new story idea that came out of nowhere. I took note and set it aside so I can finish my current project. Maybe the advice this week is simple and something that I should've been doing all along, but think about it. Exercise time can be a great time to brainstorm or mold your ideas. Swimming works great for me, but there's a wide variety of physical actives to choose from. Find your favorite and create a routine. It doesn't have to be much, they say, about 30 minutes three days a week.

Hope this was helpful. It was for me. Keep up the good work out there, fellow Aspirers. We'll get there with constant vigilance by our side. Thanks for clicking and click back often for updates and Aspiring Advice.

I'm David, and my feet are cold.

No comments:

Post a Comment