Day 298...It's All In Your Mind...

Welcome to Day 298...

And it really is all in your mind...

Here's Today's Takeaway Lesson...

"Change Your Mind...Change Your Life"

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie 

Follow me on Twitter @AuthorMaggie #busywriterslife

Visit my website @ www.maggiecollins.net

Like me on Facebook Maggie Collins
And don't forget Pinterest

365 Days & Counting...

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Day 297..An Important 4 Letter Word For Writers...

Welcome to Day 297...

And an Important 4 Letter Word For Writers...

I recently read a blog post about training for a triathlon.  

With all the hours an athlete might spend each week biking, swimming and running, they are with out a doubt "dedicated to speed, determination, intensity, and pushing your limits."

You could say the same is true when writing a novel.

However, the blogger shared that in the midst of all an athlete's dedication, determination, intensity and pushing through limits, it's important they don't overlook one key thing.

Rest.

"Recovery is not a form of weakness—it’s a necessity. The last thing you want is for your training to sabotage your health, brain, and body. It won’t do you any good come triathlon time."

Again, you could make the same argument when writing a novel.

So why should writers rest?

Well a few reasons...

You'll Prevent Burnout
Going at a 110% for extended periods of time weakens you.  Mentally, physically and emotionally. If you don't pace yourself well, the crash of a burnout could cause you to become "so over" writing that you may spend weeks even months away from working. To avoid sabotaging your long term writing goals, avoid the "crash & burn". Instead, write everyday or at least on a regular schedule. Stay disciplined, keep a good pace and keep moving.

You'll Have More Stamina In Place for a Marathon Writing Session
Maybe it's a deadline or maybe your so-in-the-zone...there will  be those times when you want or need to pull an all-nighter or write as much as humanly possible over the course of a weekend.  And if you're not approaching burnout mode, you should be able to easily move through those once-in-a-blue-moon marathon writing sessions.

Ultimately, You'll Write Better & Faster
Give yourself a rest and your Super Brain will thank you for it. I'm always amazed at the high creativity, the rush of ideas and the ease of solving my writing problems when I walk away from the computer for a while. It's important to take time and give your writing brain a rest - get outside, finish some chores or take a break for a lunch date. A rest allows your Super Brain to work out ideas and plot lines - you'll find what was hard now become effortless.

A Good Rest = A Good Mood
No matter what tasks you face or how difficult your day may be, you're coping mechanisms are so much stronger when you're well rested. So if you hit a publishing bump in the road, or a bit of writer's block, you're recovery will be that much quicker - plus a good rest should help ensure you stay positive and along the way. The bottom line? A good rest will help cultivate a good mood and even if you're working hard, you'll enjoy the ride more.

And in the end, isn't that what it's all about? Enjoying the ride?

Interested in the seeing the full blog on rest and triathlon training? Go here...http://www.weekendtriathlete.com/blog/triathlon-training-the-importance-of-rest-days#sthash.p1NWSANF.dpuf 

Here's Today's Takeaway Lesson...

"Take A Rest; A Field That Has Rested Gives A Bountiful Crop"  Ovid

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie 

Follow me on Twitter @AuthorMaggie #busywriterslife

Visit my website @ www.maggiecollins.net

Like me on Facebook Maggie Collins
And don't forget Pinterest

365 Days & Counting...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365

Day 296..What Every Writer Can Use

Welcome to Day 296...

And something every writer can use.

I recently found this little gem on Pinterest.  It's a Master List of Gestures and Body Language from author and blogger Bryn Donovan

Feeling stuck on how to describe what your character is doing? This go-to list is brilliant.

Here's some of what's included...

"he lowered his head
she hung her head
he ducked
she bowed her head
he covered his eyes with a hand
she pressed her hands to her cheeks

she raised her chin
he lifted his chin

her hands squeezed into fists
his hands tightened into fists
she clenched her fists
she balled her fists
he unclenched his fists
her arms remained at her sides

he shrugged
she gave a half shrug
he lifted his shoulder in a half shrug
she gave a dismissive wave of her hand

she raised a hand in greeting
he waved

she held up her hands
he lifted his hands
she held up her palms
he threw his hands in the air
she brushed her palms together
he rubbed his hands together
she made a steeple of her fingers
he spread his hands
she gesticulated
he waved his hands
she clapped her hands
he snapped his fingers
she held up a finger
he pointed
she gestured with a thumb
he jerked his thumb toward…
she extended her middle finger toward him
he gave her the finger
she gave him the thumbs up

she put her hands on her hips
she shoved her hands in her pockets
he jammed his hands in his front pockets
she rested a hand on her hip
she jutted out her hip

she folded her arms
he crossed his arms over his chest
she hugged herself
he wrapped his arms around himself
she rocked back and forth

she spread her arms wide
he held out his arms
she held out her hand
he extended a hand

he shook his head
she nodded
he bobbed his head
she tilted her head
he cocked his head
she inclined her head
he jerked her head in the direction of…
she turned her face away
he looked away.."

You can check out Bryn's full list and post at...http://bryndonovan.com/2015/04/10/master-list-of-gestures-and-body-language-for-writers/ 

Here's Today's Takeaway Lesson...

"Keep Moving Forward"  

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie 

Follow me on Twitter @AuthorMaggie #busywriterslife

Visit my website @ www.maggiecollins.net

Like me on Facebook Maggie Collins
And don't forget Pinterest

365 Days & Counting...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365