A Writer’s Thanksgiving…

I used to write weekly posts on things I’m thankful for as a writer, and I think I need to get back into the habit. It was fun—and helped me keep perspective because even on weeks when the writing (ahem) sucked, I could always come up with things I love about being a writer.

So, being as it’s Thanksgiving and all, here are (a few of) my week’s things to love about being a writer:

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Week 2 Challenge Check-In

I just finished week 2 of my personal end-of-year challenge to get exercising again, and I confess discouragement. A nasty cold/sore throat has set up house in my chest, leaving me totally wiped out. So…exercise? Not happening so much. My personal rule of thumb: if I get exhausted walking up a half flight of stairs, I don’t work out. (Radical, I know.)

On the plus side, I’m still working on that exercise habit by spending the time every day.

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Habit Boosts and Hurdles

I’m on day #3 of my second week developing a new exercise habit. Not that I didn’t exercise before, but it tended to be an on-again, off-again event, leaning more toward “off” in the past few weeks, when a nasty episode of tendonitis in my Achilles has made my exercise of choice (running/walking) off limits.

How are things going, you ask? I’ve hit both moments of encouragement (boosts) and moments that drag me down (hurdles). I thought I’d share…

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End-of-Year Challenge

CHALLENGE TO SELF: Develop a regular exercise habit by the end of the year.

WHY?: I can be a little…obsessive in my writing habits. As in, in my desire to write without sacrificing anything else in life, it’s easy for me to neglect things like, say, exercise, eating well, and taking the occasional time to enjoy life.

WEEK 1: Spend at least 15 minutes a day cleaning up my “exercise area”, which had degenerated into a catch-all for empty boxes, dog toys, and Halloween costumes that weren’t *quite* put all the way away.

REPORT: I just successfully completed week 1! My exercise area—in a basement that’s actually a large crawl space—is relatively clean, although I did discover that our boxer likes to dig up the exposed dirt on a regular basis. Luckily, the shop vac lives in the basement, too.

One reason I blog is to share thoughts and ideas about how writers can thrive in this crazy life we’ve chosen (or, as is often the case, in this crazy life that’s chosen us.)

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Living Life

I’m just coming off a summer of feeling stuck as a writer. Seriously, I was the Virginia Woolf rocks-in-my-pockets kind of down over my persistent lack of flow, especially because writing—and writing prolifically—is an integral part of how I define myself.

For the longest time, I took my standard beating-my-head-against-the-wall approach.

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