I walked through the doors of the local Tim Horton’s to meet my friend Josh for a night of writing bliss. Before I even sat down, or even said a word, he glanced up at me then looking taken aback.

“You got sleep last night didn’t you?” He asked. I nodded affirmatively.

I moved three weeks ago. My daughters were not sleeping (and still aren’t) for a variety of reasons, and I was spent on house projects, and lack of sleep. Through all of this I barely wrote. I ate terrible food, (insert your fast food kryptonite here) did not exercise (I was sanding wood floors and redoing my kitchen, however) and slept little.

Which brings me back to Josh’s comment at the beginning of the post. That night I wrote well. I put in eight hundred words on my novel, and when I reviewed them the next day they were better than I expected. This made me stop and think.

What would happen to my writing if I slept well all of the time? What would happen if I was a healthy writer?

I am not a health nut. I am not a person who obsesses over portion sizes and calories. But I can tell the difference in my body when I eat junk for a while and when I eat fresh produce and drink the proper amount of water. I don’t have caffeine head aches. I don’t have an upset stomach.

What would happen to my writing if I ate well all of the time? How would that impact my writing?

A month ago I ran a 5K race. It was very satisfying. I believe that the struggle of a sport or 5K builds motivation in other areas of life. Also, running, while sounding torturous, can be fun. It also gives me time to collect my thoughts and not be distracted, providing a great opportunity to mull over a particular part of my story.

What would happen to my writing if I exercised regularly?

These three things are not imperative to the writer. But, I believe being healthy may help me be a better writer. The master sleuth lived on opium and liquor, and the occasional embalming fluid. I wonder how he would have functioned had he ate fresh vegetables and got the proper amount of sleep?

Cheers,

Bob