Aiming at two birds with one stone

  Have been looking at another kind of clutter this morning - the extra poundage I've collected over Christmas! I suppose it's not too bad - only four pounds in a month  - but it's always harder work getting rid of it than gaining it.  And it's only been a year since I really nailed losing a couple of stone after having babies.

  Where do you squeeze in the time to be healthy and fit, when you're already working so hard, and your brain fails at the merest hint that you have to remember something important?  I don't want to use up writing time by exercising.  (And don't get me started on the time-eating qualities of starting a blog and following other people's...it was a good plan, but it's not helping me focus!)

  One of the things that triggered my determination to write again, despite feeling that drinking a cup of tea while it was still hot was the height of my ambition, was a book I came across.  It was entirely by accident; I was still floored by the realisation that my writing was poor and I didn't know what to do about it.  The children were choosing library books, and had sunk into beanbags. They appeared as keen to move as Steve is when he wakes up in the morning, so I left them to it, and wandered next door. (It's a small library!) 

  I saw this book: 'I'd Rather be Writing', by Marcia Golub and thought, Yes, I would.  I grabbed it quickly and took it home.  It was a lucky choice.  I've read others since that daunted me more and one that made me quake, but this one was so positive, and it resonated with me so well that it was the push that got me rolling.  I'm so glad about that.  

  One of the things she said, which I have cherished for months, is that sometimes you're writing even when you're not at your keyboard.  When you're plotting in the car, or don't hear the 4 year old say he needs a wee till it's a moment too late to find him one because you were off with the fairies, it's all part of the process. And she talked a lot about getting yourself in the right frame of mind to write, and how the repetition of exercising helps her.  I tried it: it helps me, too.  When you're out jogging, or even bouncing the floorboards in front of  a Davina DVD, you can unhook your brain and imagination and be writing so that when your fingers hit that keyboard, they can hit it racing.

  Maybe it's time to tackle the clutter round my waist, and get on with sorting the kinks in my plot.  Floorboards, brace yourselves!