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The
Writing
Life
Writer
Wellness
by Joy Held
After five
hours in
the car, I didn't feel like going to the
writer's conference. The
driving, the early morning preparations and
saying good-bye to my
children had combined to make my body sluggish
and my heart heavy. But
the conference began that evening at 7:00 p.m.
with “Night Owl
Sessions” until 11:00 p.m. Twelve hours of
activities were scheduled
for the next day. There was an hour and a half
to check into the
hotel, change clothes and pick up my
conference information. I didn't
want to miss anything, but the car trip zapped
my energy. My hips were
tired from sitting so long. I'm not a spring
chick any more.
Thankfully,
the hotel
registry went smoothly and the conference
folks were so organized that
I was left with an hour and ten minutes before
opening events. I got a
cold bottle of water from my take-along
cooler, changed into exercise
clothes and headed for the hotel activity area
(the pool, spa and
exercise room).
Thirty
minutes of easy
yoga later, I felt clear headed and energized.
I had done five minutes
of deep breathing exercises and felt peaceful
and open to new ideas as
the result. The water replaced needed fluids
and helped the tension
headache drain away. I was excited again about
going to the writing
conference.
Back in the
hotel
room, I showered, dressed and ate six rice
crackers, making it to the
convention downstairs with five minutes to
spare. I chose a seat
between two pleasant-looking writers and
looked around. Wow! Fresh
fruit and cheese plates alongside rows of
pitchers filled with cold
water. Later, I used the break to stretch my
legs, then wrote a page
for
my journal. I noted the surroundings, the
people and the day's events
then folded the paper away to be pasted into
my journal waiting safely
under lock and key at home.
I had a
fabulous,
productive writing weekend.
Until I lived
my
writing this way, I used to have to schedule
workshop travel to include
extra days to rest before and after. Until I
got my diet under control,
I ate the wrong things while on a writing trip
and needed three days
for the swelling in my hands and feet to
disappear.
Those things
don't
plague me now because I've developed a
personal and wholistic way to
live that supports my writing life as never
before. I call this
lifestyle WRITER WELLNESS. It's a unique and
self-designed approach to
maintaining my creative edge through regular
practices: journal
writing, exercise, relaxation, proper
nutrition and creative play.
Each part is
designed
to keep my body healthy, my mind focused and
my writing fruitful. It
works because the principles are custom
designed to suit my dreams as a
writer but to fall within the demands of my
family-driven life
situation. Once I tapped into the five
specifics, it was a matter of
discovering through research and trial what
worked best for me. Then I
applied discipline to follow through on the
ideas. What resulted was a
distinctive set of practices that have helped
me stay healthy and
creative for years.
On the
writing trip, I
used abbreviated versions of journaling,
exercise, proper food, water,
and deep breathing to focus and relax my mind.
At home, these ideas are
expanded to represent my life as a mother,
writer and teacher. After
years of adhering to WRITER WELLNESS, I write
six days a week. I have
to stop myself from writing seven days. The
components of WRITER
WELLNESS are feasible and flexible. Anyone can
explore and apply each
part to their lives in a personal way.
DAILY JOURNAL
WRITING. If you don't
write in a private journal every day, get
started. It doesn't matter
what you say, but how. You MUST hand write
your entries to better drain
your mind and body of daily drudge. The stuff
that gets in your way
when you're writing. Don't worry about
prompts, grammar or syntax. Just
write. Every day. Page after page. The length
is determined by your
personal schedule.
EXERCISE SIX DAYS
A WEEK. The key is
moderate and long-term. Experiment with
walking, hatha yoga and
stretching exercises. Find what works for you
no less than twenty
minutes per day.
LEARN RELAXATION
TECHNIQUES. Deep
breathing, guided visualization, meditation or
laying down for five
minutes without moving will strengthen your
mind and provide you with
clarity and focus for every facet of your
life.
DEVELOP PROPER
NUTRITIONAL HABITS.
Stop eating the foods you know aren't good for
you. Don't add salt to
anything. Avoid high fructose corn syrup and
partially hydrogenated
vegetable oils. Eat smaller “meal snacks”
multiple times during the day.
CREATIVE PLAY.
Your mind loves a
trip to the museum or theatre to see a play.
Do a crossword puzzle at
least once per month. When you're stuck for an
idea, spend two hours
cutting pictures from magazines about the
idea, make a collage and
write down everything you can think of
afterwards. The writing brain is
a multi-faceted muscle that thrives on regular
creative play outside of
your chosen field. Explore other artistic
mediums on a consistent basis
and you'll never run out of fuel. I DON'T
BELIEVE IN WRITER'S BLOCK!
© 2001 Joy E. Held. All rights
reserved.
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