5 Non-Writing Things Writers Should Do Every Day

Writing can be a weird, lonely game, especially on the day to day. So here are ten things I'm trying to do every day to help my physical, emotional, and mental health as a writer.

1. Go outside. I know, I know, it's kind of scary out there, but there's also flowers and clouds and fresh air.

2. Talk to other writers. I always feel better and pumped up about writing after talking with other writers. And if you don't have IRL writer friends, there's us online too! Even just watching stuff like National Book Festival author talks perks me up a little bit.

3. Exercise. Pick your poison, whatever works for you. The point is to try and get moving, get your heart rate up, a little bit every day. I know I always feel better for it, and feel very bleh when I don't.

4. Read. Reading is what reminds us why we do what we do. Either it's brilliant and we think, man I want to be able to make readers feel this way one day. Or it's...not, and we think, hey, I can do better than that.

5. Do something new. Explore a new place in your city or try out a new restaurant. Just doing something new can help you feel less suck in your own head.

Hope these help! I'm going to try and do better at them myself.

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Go To The Gym Happy

It's got to be a big deal for me to want to talk about working out.

I've been trying to get serious about health lately. I've been a casual gym goer for many years (I'm still pretty casual) but I'm trying to add some consistency. One of my biggest problems with working out is that I've probably got something like asthma, and when I run for extended periods I get wheezy and have some pretty bad chest pains.

Anyway, on Saturday I got to hang out with my awesome mom. She was in town before flying back home, so we went out for lunch and talked and it was just so great. After dropping her off at the airport, I headed over to the gym. Because I'd spent the morning with her I walked into the gym feeling super happy. And let me tell you, that made all the difference.

I was feeling pumped and excited, so I felt up for trying new things that ended up working for me so much better than before. I finally felt that runners high I've heard so much about, without hitting up against the wheezing chest pain block first. It was amazing!

Ok, so why am I even telling you this? Who cares? Right. I don't care about other peoples work outs either, believe me. But here's my point.

Sit down to your writing or editing feeling happy.

Maybe blast some happy music first and dance around in your underwear. Or maybe make yourself some chocolate chip cookies. Whatever it takes. Even if you're writing something really dramatic and emotional, I believe sitting down happy is sitting down ready to DO this thing.

You may end up feeling drained and stretched, but if you go to work happy, you may find you have more of yourself to give.

Sarah

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Blogging: Have We Heard This All Before?

I've been doing some thinking lately about the best functions and purposes of a blog in current social media trends. I think blogs are just as vital as ever, though perhaps for different reason's than they once were, and I'll get to that. But I can I just complain about it for a second? I could use your guys opinions.

First, blogs just aren't the "thing" anymore. At least that's the impression I'm getting in my web usage. It seems to me that so many users don't have the attention span for even a short blog post anymore, and the new social media sites are reflecting that. We have the quick and visual Instagram over Facebook, and six second Vine videos in addition to YouTube. People don't have the attention for a five paragraph blog essay. (But we do it anyway, right? :)

Mostly though, I'm starting to feel redundant again. I started this blog as a writing blog, and I LOVE talking about writing and hearing about writing and hearing from you guys about your writing projects, and I do want to continue providing as much useful information and tips for you guys about writing that I can. But the thing is, when you've got 600 posts about writing in your archive, you start feeling like you've got nothing new to say. And I know so many of you amazing bloggers have a big chunk even more then that. (Props. Serious props.)

And like I said, I think blogs are still very important. They may not be the go to "thing" anymore, but they still provide one of the best options for what is essentially your internet "home" address. They're the place you can point people. They're your gathering ground.

So now I want to ask you guys. What do you think is the solution? Is this just me being petulant? What other functions do you see for author blogs? 

Sarah Allen

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