Thursday, February 23, 2023

Five Ways Writing is Like Dieting


Pam here. How many of us have set a New Year’s resolution to lose weight at some point or another? Or simply started a new health plan just to feel better in general? It’s amazing how much writing can be like dieting. And I’ve come up with FIVE ways the two are similar. Let’s compare…

1) Make Healthy Choices - We know that certain foods are more healthy than others, and even some healthy choices don’t agree with everyone. Find out what works for your writing. Are you a pantster or a plotter? Do you prefer writing all the way through or polishing as you go? Do you write one thousand words a day or throw everything but the contents of your fridge on the page in a month-long marathon writing session? Once you figure out the plan that works for you and the writing plan that you can see yourself sticking to for life, you’re on your way to a healthy writing career.


2) Start Over Every Three Hours - One of the selling points of a healthy lifestyle is not to beat yourself up if you cheat or go off your eating plan once or twice. The problem comes when you throw in the towel and one or two slip-ups become a month-long binge of unhealthy eating. It’s the same with writing. You slip up. You get behind. The story isn’t working. It happens to all of us. But don’t beat yourself up and let that slip-up turn in to long-term failure. Start over. I don’t necessarily mean start your project over, but start your PLAN over. Tired? Discouraged? The writing is like slogging through quicksand? You’ve hit a brick wall? Everything will look better in three hours, or after a good night’s sleep. Sometimes all it takes is a quick power walk to reset everything. Don’t give up. Take a deep breath and put Tip #1 into action.

And this leads directly into comparison #3….

3) Plan Ahead - The biggest mistake and what usually leads to going off-track is not keeping on-plan staples to prepare healthy meals and snacks on hand. I confess that I put off grocery shopping as long as possible, and this has sabotaged my healthy eating kick more than once. Eventually, with not a single fresh vegetable in the house, I’ll give in and do the marathon 3-5 hour shopping trip to restock the fridge, freezer, and pantry. The same is true in our writing. The more prepared we are, the better our writing sessions will flow. For some, this might mean a 20 page synopsis, detailed character charts complete with photos; for others, just reading what you wrote the day before and honing in on the emotions and moving forward works. Regardless, there is some planning taking place, whether it’s in your head or on paper. Stick to the plan.

4) Exercise - A bit of exercise is healthy for our bodies and our brain. It gets the heart pumping, increases our metabolism, and clears the brain. My exercise the last few years has been bending and lifting weights (grand babies), as well as sweeping, moping, and vacuuming twice a week since we had a crawler much of that time. Now that all the grands are walking, so I spend my time keeping up with them three times a week. I call that a win-win. As far as writing, we get a two-fer here. Physical exercise is good for both our health and to get our brain cells pumping. No brainer there! So take a break from the computer and chase some kids, or just take a brisk walk to recharge.

5) Seasons of Stress - One of the biggest pitfalls of any diet plan seems to be stress. A dedicated stress-eater can devour an entire carton of Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough ice cream in one sitting. Me? Give me a large (the biggest they make, baby!) bag of Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips and a container of French Onion dip and I can kick stress to the curb big time. This is the reason chips and dip are banned at my house. Sigh.


Recognize that there will be seasons that stress your writing plan to the max. Just like the “Calgon Take Me Away” commercials from yesteryear, we’re bombarded with life on a daily basis. Kids, spouses, elder care, day jobs in addition to writing, housework, shopping, cooking, (should I dare mention that April 15th is looming?). Add in a winter cold or flu that lingers for six weeks, or a sick child, an audit, a wedding, or car wreck, or any number of life-altering but totally unexpected stress inducing events and suddenly your well-planned writing schedule has gone the way of the empty Ben & Jerry’s ice cream container.

Don’t let a season of stress completely do you in. Deal with what you have to deal with even if you have to put writing on the back burner for a while. But when the dust settles, when the sick child is all better, when the audit is done, take a deep breath and start over.

Make healthy choices. Start over. Plan ahead. Exercise. Don't Stress.

And that, my Seeker friends, is a recipe for success whether you're writing or dieting.


Visit Pam at www.pamhillman.com

16 comments:

  1. Great post, Pam! Why is it that the simplest things that will make the biggest difference in our lives are often the hardest things to do? Consistently. Ahhh! There's the rub. Because you have to KEEP doing them. Your #2 is my favorite piece of advice. I think it's interesting that you recommend starting over every 3 hours. I have a personalized daily planner on my desk that is divided into 4 hour blocks of time for each day. But since an hour of that is usually eaten up with making a meal or snack, getting coffee, bathroom breaks, etcetera, I think it boils down to about three hours of work time. Obviously, all of those blocks can't be filled with writing stuff, but I'm working on decluttering my schedule and using as many of those boxes as I can for finishing my story. Just gotta say, I like the writing application much more than the dieting one. Which might be why I'm so round. Lol! Hope you have a great day of productive writing, Pam!

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    1. Terri, I too am more apt to follow the writing application more than the dieting one! lol

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  2. Pam, this is a good post and so needed. Writing is the one thing everyone expects us to work around THEIR issues. It's one of the few things that can. But it's also forgiving -- you CAN get back to it.
    Love the dieting analogy. Can be applied to other things. Like finances.
    It's snowing here.
    Kathy Bailey
    Your Kaybee
    Dieting, budgeting and writing in New Hampshire

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    1. Kaybee, so true. I'm going through a stage in my life where I'm sort of pulled into many directions. It is what it is, but sometimes it feels like more than I signed up for. :) But I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, knowing that this too shall pass.

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  3. Great post, Pam. Many good things to think about. I have a good day ahead for writing, so I plan to take advantage of it.

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  4. Thanks for the reminder, Pam!

    The best weapons in my arsenal are habits and routine. When I can keep those in line, then whatever long-term goal I'm trying to reach is doable!
    While I'm in a stressful season right now, I'm already planning and prepping for starting again when it's over. :-)

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    1. You boiled everything in life down to two words, Jan: habit and routine. Brilliant!

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  5. Great post, Pam! I like the ability to start over. Even when you mess up, whether in your diet or your writing plan, wherever you left off, you can start over.

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