It’s really tough to stay in shape when you’re a writer. You sit hunched over a laptop screen for hours and hours at a time. And, you’re (maybe) drinking while pecking away at the keyboard. And/or snacking because who has time to cook?
I gave the impression last week that’s all I did during my two weeks in hell working on my final edits and revisions for Fool Her Once. That’s only because playing tennis and/or swimming 20 laps is part of my basic morning routine. Like brushing teeth and showering, it’s not negotiable. It’s got to be done, usually before I sit down at my laptop.
Staying In Shape
I shared some of my tips for staying in shape a couple of years ago as a featured writer on Colleen M.Story’s website, Writing and Wellness. Nowadays, Colleen is a pub buddy (that’s pub as in publishing, not pub as in British bar) Her novel The Beached Ones is due out next Spring (same as mine) from CamCat Books (same as mine.) I knew Colleen before our CamCat submissions.
I started following Colleen when I first joined Twitter about five years ago. She produces an amazing blog on her website, Writing and Wellness. It’s chock full of good ideas and tips for physical health and mental well-being. It’s aimed primarily at writers, but some of the advice would be well-taken by anyone who spends most of the working day at a desk over a computer screen.
Below is a quote from me from that Writing & Wellness interview:
Because, I know how physically debilitating it can be to just sit and write, I plan my physical activities/workouts for the week before I plan anything else.
Scheduled tennis games go on the calendar first. That’s something where others are involved, so it forces me to fulfill my commitments. I usually play 4 days a week for 90 minutes a day. My Fitbit—it’s a Charge 2—tells me I burn about 350-400 calories per game. I always feel fabulous after a workout like that—especially if I’ve won a set or two!
Then, the rest of the day is planned around those games. I’m really lucky because I’m able to play tennis year round, and mostly I can swim every day, too. Those are just the best activities for getting your body parts moving.
When I can’t do either, I walk. I walk pretty much everywhere, and when I go shopping I try to park in the furthermost space from the store, and wherever I can, I take stairs and not elevators.
Fave Foods?
You can read the rest of the interview here. It includes some of my nutrition tips, the title of my favorite “diet” book, and fave foods, too.
Big Physical Challenges For Authors
Coincidentally, if you click on the above Writing and Wellness link this week, you’ll see that the featured writer is Susan Ouellette. She is another CamCat author. Her novel, The Wayward Spy was published in March. Susan had this to say about exercise:
The biggest physical challenge of being a writer is that it’s nearly impossible to be active while writing. My imagination may be going 100 mph, but my body sure isn’t.
When I’m in the zone, when scenes are flowing, the last thing I want to do is take a break for a walk. And when I get stuck or frustrated, I often reach for a snack.
Susan went on to say this: ” Several months into [a] rewrite, I joined a gym, something I’d always felt too busy to do. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I tried every kind of workout – spin, Zumba, strength, step aerobics, you name it. No matter the type of workout, I found that working up a good sweat helped relieve my stress.
And the less stressed I felt, the better I was able to focus on writing.”
The rest of Colleen’s interview with Susan is here.
And for those who want to focus only on intellectual exercise, here’s a really interesting blog by Colleen about the benefits of belonging to a book club. That’s one I shared with the book club I belong to, the Racquettes ( we initially met through tennis in Florida.) I don’t think you have to be a writer to reap the same benefits.
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This is a timely post for me Joanna as I embark on the start of another novel today in the midst of an eight week challenge to exercise more and lose some of that pandemic weight. Another motivating factor for us scribes to get up and move is if we want to be around long enough to write all our stories, then we need to be healthy!!
Happy to be of service, Eldon. And, best of luck with you new novel. It’s a great feeling to be starting a new story, isn’t it?
The best feeling Joanna 🙂 I’ve also taken more of your advice this time around and am writing within the lines, so to speak. A story that doesn’t cross genres.
I’ll be very interested to see how that works out for you, Eldon. Genre is a funny concept. How many authors don’t really know if they’re writing a thriller, a mystery or a suspense novel? I recently enrolled in a Robert McKee webinar that explained those differences, and Boy! do you ever learn new stuff from McKee.
Sounds like a great webinar!! Is there that much of a difference between mystery and suspense though? I mean, can one exist without the other?
Great question, Eldon because you can’t have a thriller without suspense either. So, suspense sort of floats out there and is an element of both Mysteries and thrillers. But there is a difference between mystery and thriller. I intend to write a short blog on it some day, soon.
Thanks for the shout-out, Joanna. Great post–and good reminders that we need to take care of our health no matter what! (BTW, congrats on finishing the final edits!) :O)
Of course. I’m one of your biggest fans on the Writing and Wellness website. Have been reading your blogs since I started writing Fool Her Once.
I walk every day and sometimes twice a day. This pushes oxygen through every cell in the body.
Agreed, Clare. Walking is one of the best exercises you can do. You don’t need a gym or a club to do it, and you can walk whenever and wherever you want. I love it. When I can’t swim or play tennis, that’s my next best choice. It also gives you time to think… and plot!