C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

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06/02/2021 • 8:28 AM 1

Do Not Drop Those Dogs

Remember last year, early in the pandemic, when everybody jumped on the craze of making sourdough bread? Yeah, I did it, too. I’m not even sure why. My results were mixed, but it just became the thing to do. I got “Mother” going, feeding her and tending to her. I made a lot of bread and there’s nothing wrong with that…but….

Okay, here’s the deal:

We can only live our lives in a forward motion, or possibly static. Since the pandemic began, admittedly, I’ve been in a holding pattern quite a bit. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I have been writing a new apocalyptic novel, but I’ve been going at it very slowly. What else did I do? I listened to far too many virologists and immunologists as I fretted over the pandemic. It’s good to be informed, but my doom scrolling took hours out of the day and night. I obsessed over US politics because, wow, welcome to the circus, right? Love it or hate it, it was quite an exciting show with lots of twists and turns. I lost a lot of sleep, too. Netflix seemed to dominate my daily agenda. I hid in my blanket fort and stared into the existential abyss. The abyss stared back, but didn’t have anything to say. It wasn’t a meet-cute situation.

Here’s what I wish I’d done:

As a person with a few compounding co-morbidities to be paranoid about, I wish I’d used the time to take better care of my health. The sedentary nature of the writing life is bad enough without retreating into the couch and eating all the comfort food.

Her: What do you want to eat?
Me: Everything. All of it.

I am hypervigilant due to health anxiety, so I took precautions, of course. Trapped in a hotspot in perpetual lockdown (still!), I hardly went outside. When I did venture out for necessities, I double-masked. I wiped down groceries in the freezing cold, used hand sanitizer, and washed my hands obsessively as many others did. However, working out wasn’t really on my agenda. I told myself I didn’t have the energy for it. The gym was closed. At most, I tried to get 10,000 steps a day. If that’s all you can do, that’s fine. I could have and should have done more besides feel sorry for myself.

Last spring, we started a vegetable garden and that wasn’t all bad. The winters are harsh where I live. Since I hate Nature when it doesn’t offer a beach and palm trees, I was reduced to walking and sometimes running in circles inside the house. It was not a happy time. I contemplated ventilators a lot.

But things are changing.

The gym is still closed and we are in a situation where society will open up only if certain vaccination targets are met. I trust science, but I do not trust other people. Therefore, I’m going to be masking up for a very long time. Fortunately, the closure of the gym is no longer a barrier. In fact, I’m going to give up my gym membership. Instead, I’ve taken to working out at home using very little equipment. I got on an app called FitOn and it’s become part of my daily routine. It’s like having fitness and wellness coaches in your own home without the horror of actually having them in your home.

I had already changed my diet to be far more plant-based and that was good. A former athlete who has long since become apathetic about doing strenuous shit, I’m finally exercising again. I don’t have to go out and the workouts are very efficient. My cardio, strength, and flexibility are all improving. Using FitOn is much cheaper and more convenient than the gym I can’t currently attend. I’m a convert and, yes, I do feel a note of missionary zeal creeping into this post. I will only add that, despite some recent ongoing challenges, I think my mood is elevated, too. I carry myself differently now. I’ve been so consistent, my body composition is already changing in a good way.

If you’re a writer who is already getting regular exercise, please do continue. If not, you might look into the FitOn app. Failing that, there are plenty of other options, including programs you can enjoy on YouTube or that old Jane Fonda tape that’s still stuck in your dinosaur of a VCR. Whatever works to get you working on you.

Writers focus a lot on marketing. Frankly, I’d like to see a little more attention paid to craft. However, none of us will have long writing careers if we don’t take care of our health better. Write, but take frequent breaks to get up and move. Use a standing desk. Try a treadmill desk. Sit on a Swiss ball instead of a chair. Walk more, move more, juggle your Wire-haired Terrier, Pug, and Doberman while you enjoy interpretive dance. Whatever you can do, please take care of yourself (and don’t drop those dogs).

I knew better and I didn’t take care of myself enough. I let the viral apocalypse get me down, but I’m working on it. Physically, things are getting better. Mental improvement is sure to follow.

~ Check out my killer crime thrillers and apocalyptic epics on my author site, AllThatChazz.com.

Note: AFTER Life, Inferno, the first book in my nanotech-zompoc trilogy is now permafree everywhere. Find AFTER Life, Inferno by Robert Chazz Chute wherever you get your ebooks and enjoy the free roller coaster ride as brain parasites plus artificial intelligence give the human race a makeover.

Filed under: the writing life, exercise for writers, Fiton, fiton app, Robert Chazz Chute, self-care for writers, the sedentary writer, the writing life, what is the FitOn app, writing and health, writing and self-care

03/01/2021 • 12:58 PM 0

But wait, there’s more!

You’ve all heard about the COVID “19” (as in pounds added during lockdown). In an effort to stay off a ventilator, I’ve been basically vegan since June. However, I needed to get even more serious about losing weight and improving my fitness. I have a blood test and physical coming up and I’m weirdly fixated on passing tests and impressing my physician. However, I did not expect how much my lifestyle would affect my writing life.

Margaret Atwood advises writers to exercise because many hours at the keyboard can mess with your body. From posture to pain, getting out in front of future problems is always a good idea. We all know healthy body, healthy mind. That’s not woo-woo. It’s about blood flow. I know we’re all focused on our next book launch, but there are also happy and helpful endorphins to be released in the meantime.

If you’re not up to a run around the block, that’s okay. The opposite of sedentary is not exercise, it’s activity. We need to move in whatever way we can. 10,000 steps a day is my minimum, but I also work with weights and do bodyweight exercise. I won’t go near my old gym at the moment. However, there are plenty of ways to get a sweat on quickly that don’t cost a thing.

You’ve heard it all before. No surprises here. I’d heard it all before, too. But then I felt it. It’s one thing to know something intellectually. It’s another to feel it move you deeply. I found myself moving more and liking it. I have more energy and my mood is definitely elevated.

The other night I went on a rare excursion to a grocery store. (TIP: Go late on a Saturday night and nobody’s there. The few staff outnumbered the customers.) While shopping for healthy choices, I started talking to myself, joking around in an outlandish English accent. “By Harry, those oddly shaped mushrooms are positively beastly! Percival! Unhand those biscuits at once! How dast you? My word, what cheek!”

I was happy for no apparent reason. That’s…well, let’s just say that’s uncharacteristic. Mama Chute done raised herself a dark spirit when she brought me into the great, dirty world. But there is a reason, of course: lifestyle change. There’s less shit gumming up the blood and no one (i.e. me) chucking wrenches in my biological gears.

But wait, there’s more!

My sleep disorder has improved markedly, and my hypochondria has eased. I have more energy to exercise and deal with life. A lightbulb went out last night, and I changed it immediately instead of thinking about it for a few weeks or months. All this newfound energy is translating to more keyboard time. I’m making progress on my next novel. Yes, I did peck away at it slowly in the past year, but I also spent too much time vegging out mindlessly, playing Sniper Elite, and trying not to think about the killer pandemic too much. Stressed, depressed, anxious, pissed off, worried about my low and forgotten place in the universe: I’m the whole darling package.

I am a work in progress. I’m still the before picture, but I haven’t been so optimistic about my after picture in over a year. Whether it be my health profile or my writing life, the trend is hopeful. 2020 was rough for everyone. 2021 will be better. We can make it so.

And now, back to working on Endemic.