Following up on Tuesday’s post about sick days – the other side of that coin is that writers tend to be hard on their bodies. Sadly, the image of Hemingway or Capote drunk and spinning brilliance out of the bottle is a romantic myth that our profession can’t seem to shake. And it’s an old one: think Poe, for example. Drugs and drink (mostly drink, I think) seems to run as rampant through writing as it seems to run through the music/acting industry. But it doesn’t have to.

Most of the writers I know are actually trying to keep themselves in relatively decent shape, but it’s not an easy battle. Writing is a sedentary job. You sit, and you type. I know Gail Carriger has a walking desk, but I don’t know how prevalent they are. For most of us, we’re on our butts at least 1-2 hours a day, to write. Not counting our day jobs. And that is not conducive to being healthy.

There are as many ways to get healthier as there are writers. I’ve had folks swear by the Eowyn Challenge (which I really want to pick up again), and some are doing Couch-to-5k. A couple do Zumba, or walk – Nathan Lowell has an awesome podcast that he does just about every morning while he does the 2nd mile of his morning walk. The big point is, we’re all trying to stay healthy, so we can write longer. And write more.

Point being? Don’t neglect yourself. Move just a bit, every day, and keep yourself healthy. You’ll find it helps your writing too, because your head will be clearer. And yes, I’m trying to do my own part. I’ve posted before about my struggles with weight loss, and I’m sure I’ll be posting again. Maybe I should add days exercised to my tracking stuff for next year. Maybe.

Right now, I’ve pulled my Wii out, and will be committing to 30 minutes of Wii Sports and/or Resort every day for the next 30 days. I can do this. I’m also over on Lose it! as captain_hobbes, if you’re interested. It’s a great little program to help

What about you? What are you doing to exercise? And if you have any suggestions for Wii games (I don’t have a Fit, just the regular Wii), let me know!

I’ve been bad about keeping up on things, which is why I failed to notice that both Dark Moon Seasons and Rum and Runestones have joined Not Your Father’s Horseman on the Kindle! So if you want a cool present for someone, there are three! For that new Kindle Fire that I know you want to get them. 😀 You’re welcome. (I’ll have links on the website very soon, I hope – gotta work on that this weekend!)