Three Precepts for Boomers and Writers to Employ
I’ve been blogging about Baby Boomers and our trials and
tribulations of navigating through mid-life for nearly ten years. Helping,
inspiring and laughing with Boomers are all part of my passion. Now I‘m using
my experiences to create Boomer Lit about women who find out in midlife just
how strong and smart they really are.
I’ve also spent three years learning the craft of writing
fiction and creating a few stories that will be published in 2014. As all Boomers
do, I have a million of them. This, too, is my passion.
I’d like to share three critical precepts, for Boomers and writers, I’ve learned and practice:
1) Move:
Not your home; your body. As Boomers, one of the first things
we lose is flexibility. That can mean sprains, bone breaks and creaky knees.
Walking, bike riding, even climbing stairs several times a day can help you
avoid those maladies. All forms of exercise from swimming to sex reduce stress,
create clarity of thought, and maintain healthy fluid and glucose levels.
Writers sit for long periods of
time, shoulders hunched forward and eyes glues to the computer screen. That’s
not a pretty sight. It isn’t comfortable, either. Get out of that chair to walk
for fifteen minutes, drink water and stretch. You’d be surprised how much more
creative you’ll be when you get back to your writing.
2) Connect:
Not to the Internet or video games; to other people and pets. More than any other age group,
Boomers benefit from personal connections. Friends, family and your pets
provide companionship, someone with whom to share your troubles and your joy.
Those relationships help you live in the moment, which relieves anxiety and
creates interest in healthy eating, activities and learning new things.
A writer’s life is mainly solitary. Closed doors offer the quiet necessary to focus on the plotting, character profiling and world-building that we engage in. Joining a writing group, critique group, attending conferences, one-on-one sessions with a friend are all healthy ways to connect with others, have fun and learn ore about your craft.
3) Learn: Yes,
there is still room in your noggin for more cool stuff.
Learning something new should be the quest of every Boomer. You have time now that the kids are grown, your responsibilities fewer. Try a yoga class, take an adult education class, learn to ride a horse or ski, teach yourself to crochet or learn woodworking. Every time you venture into the unknown you grow more brain cells, boost your immunity and develop a new passion. No more boredom. Dive into your new activity with gusto and have some fun.
Writers have many opportunities to learn something new. Learn to create a book trailer, a webinar, build a course for your blog readers, create an event for readers to dress as your characters, give a speech on writing, learn to connect better with social media. If you write novels, try learning to write non-fiction or short stories or a different genre. Anything new you learn will help your writing career, boost your creativity, add to your credentials, develop more ideas for stories.Could you employ these precepts in your life? What other ways do you stay healthy and connected as a Boomer?
About the Author
Marcia Richards is a veteran blogger and author of the blog Marcia Richards…Sexy. Smart. and Strong where she writes inspirational, funny and helpful posts about strong women, health and the path to pursuing your passions. She is currently writing women’s fiction exploring the theme of growing older and reinvention. She also has a collection of 20th Century short stories in progress. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing with the grandkids or her husband, seeing the sights of her home state of New York or turning sad, discarded furniture into works of art. She believes there is always something new to learn and always time to play.
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Marcia, I especially agree with your last point and suggest being a writer is a great way to continue growing and learning. Even though my books are murder mysteries, there is a great deal of research involved in writing them. My latest expertise, acquired for the fifth in my Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries series is about facial reconstruction and holograms.
ReplyDeleteAll excellent advice. I keep amazing myself at what I've learned (mostly under duress) about tech in the past four years. I'd always been a Luddite and now I'm a top rated blogger and social media expert. When I visit my contemporaries who have refused to join the digital world, they seem so OLD to me. Recently I realized that's what defines a geezer: somebody who refuses to learn new things and talks endlessly about the "old days." Learning new tech stuff may be frustrating, but it keeps us young!
ReplyDeleteYou've given some good advice. For me, the learning part is fun and interesting, the connection takes more effort, but it's still fun, and the moving part is something I need to work into the routine, but I know it will be worth it. Like Anne, I've learned so much about the digital world in the past couple of years, and there is so much more to learn. My first computer (in 1981) didn't even have a floppy disk reader, and now I have a hand-me-down cell phone that could probably beat Bobby Fischer. I can't wait to see what the next half-century teaches me.
ReplyDeleteExcellent advice! I'm bookmarking this post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inspirational read!
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