Thursday, April 7, 2011

Blog Chain: Recharging

It's blog chain time, and I'm late. Again. My lack of blogging motivation lately is astounding. Oddly enough, where I lack the motivation to blog, I've been highly motivated to write and getting lots done in that area, so maybe it's good thing. Anyway, this round was started by Cole. She asked:

What hobbies, tips, or techniques do you have for keeping your writerly battery charged?

I didn't used to do anything. It was just write, write, write--more accurately obsess, obsess, obsess--all the time. Eventually though, this does burn you out. Now I know (and I had to learn this the hard way) that sometimes I just have to step away. Plus (and this one's huge) getting behind on my housework doesn't help. If my house is a mess, I can't focus, because I'm constantly worried about what I should be doing instead of writing. So, housework is definitely not a hobby, but it's important for me to stay on top of it.

I like to play around with graphic design. And along those same lines, I do a little digital scrapbooking, though not as much as I used to. I also like to doodle in the corners and along the edges of the manuscript pages I'm working on--this is how I procrastinate without my computer.

Also, watching movies with my husband. And just because I pick apart the plot lines and the character arcs and analyze the characterization does not mean I'm not recharging. Seems I can't help myself anymore and I do this without thinking. Just FYI, if your husband (or whoever you're watching the movie with) isn't a writer--and maybe if he is a writer--he doesn't want to hear your thoughts on these things during the movie and probably not afterward either. ;)

Hmm. That's all I've got. Maybe I should take up knitting again. :)

So what about all of you? What hobbies, tips, or techniques do you have for keeping your writerly battery charged?

Be sure to check out Christine's post from Tuesday and Kat's post today. :)

11 comments:

  1. I go through phases with my hobbies: crafting, painting, collage, decoupage, jewelry making. I also watch more T.V. than I probably should.

    I think my favorite hobby has always been reading, so I should probably do more of it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, reading. I forgot about that one. Duh. That's one I do a lot, and probably helps more than any of my other hobbies. And I kind of go through phases too. Very fickle girl. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am best re-charged by blogging and reading. And then blogging and reading some more! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. LOL, yes my kids are so tired of hearing me dissect a story in a movie or television show and analyze whether they did it well or not. I feel your pain on the homework stuff though. I only have a year left, but this semester, a year feels like an eternity away. Great post, Abby!

    ReplyDelete
  5. movies, reading, writing something other than my wip. glad you're making progress.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Watching movies / reading books conciously, observing characterisation , narration and all such is great way to get re-charged. They fill you with right skills and the want to write better all time


    with warm regards
    http://becomingprince.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Definitely reading. But sometimes I need a break from that too and that's when I start watching mindless TV shows like Gilmore Girls and Gossip Girl.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sundays are my bad b-movie nights at a friends house where we relax and eat good food and just laugh. Although it's only one day out of the week, it's a great recharge for me.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Obsess, obsess, obsess...dude I LOVE that. It's like you're living in my head!

    ReplyDelete
  10. OMG I can so relate!! My husband gets so mad when I can spot a cliched plot and I blurt out what's going to happen before it does. :) Hee.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm glad you take time to recharge when you need it :). Sometimes doing some chore where you can turn off your brain (like washing dishes) can be incredibly relaxing, too!

    Whenever I need a break, I watch some terrible action movie like Rambo: Part III. Lol! Works every time ;).

    ReplyDelete