Healthy Romance Writers Make Better Lovers

I’m about to go to my very first Romance Writers’ Convention. Because there’s no Writers Conventions for Dummies book, I am making some mistakes and scrambling madly to correct them. One is that I need business cards of a certain type. With a picture. Of me. Hell, no – sigh. Okay, maybe.

Another is I needed to be added to the Yahoo loop for the convention so I can print out all the workshop papers that I will need. Yowzer! I expect to take my laptop along, so maybe I will just keep electronic files.

The other mistake is that I just realized the hotel has a pool. And a gym room. So there’s no excuse for me to not get some exercise. I have a bathing suit. They have towels. I have cross trainer shoes. They have treadmills. And I am bringing my resistance band for the upper body workout I need.

I love Jude Deveraux, her writing is fun and imaginative. She is quoted as saying, “Read everything you write aloud. It will help you catch run-on sentences and find the words you’ve left out or mistyped. You’ll hear if your dialogue sounds artificial or stilted. And you’ll help the audio person who reads your book on tape. Rhyming character names need to be changed!

“Also, walk while you read aloud. Most writers get too little exercise and pacing helps build the quota.

“Speaking of exercise, I would highly recommend that you do a lot of upper body weight work. Keep your forearms and shoulders strong.”

Your mind and body are one, and your body is so interconnected, it’s scary. Untreated tooth decay and infections can go right to your heart. Sinus infections can hit your brain. Get lots of rest, hang out with positive people, and do daily exercises both mental and physical.

Take your vitamins, see your doctor and dentist regularly, drink lots of water, get a new toothbrush every month if you can afford it, floss daily, and talk to your relatives about their health issues. Genetics are important parts of your health picture, but you are more than that.

Finally, write things that make you smile, make you cry, and make you excited to keep writing. Put your heart, soul, and liver into your writing. If your work is not exciting you to keep writing, throw in a plot complication. http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/03/19/25-turns-pivots-and-twists-to-complicate-your-story/ And be sure to have someone in your life with whom you can research the happily ever after kiss at the end.

Thanks for reading, I’ll be back on Thursday with all the information from the convention.