April | 2008 | Cathy C. Hall Writes

How many times has this happened to you?

The most brilliant idea ever comes to you and you race to the computer to typity,typity,typity away and when you look up, five hours of your life have passed by? Wow! That’s exhilarating, isn’t it? Until you stand to take a bow and bam! Your back is killing you.

Or maybe your leg has fallen asleep and bam! you hit the floor, your mouth full of carpet and dog hair. The point is, sitting all that time, hunched over at the computer, moving only a few brain cells and fingers, can be detrimental to your health. I was reading a post over at Writer Unboxed last week about Deep Vein Thrombosis and how it could affect those who remain in a sitting postion for long periods of time. If you’re encouraged to walk around on long plane rides, it stands to reason that you should also get up and walk around during long periods of writing.

When the weather turns warm, I don’t have this problem. I’m forced to get up every half hour or so and find my “lizard-bashing” stick (Don’t worry. I don’t kill the lizards. I just give ’em a little bash so Sally dog will quit whining at the window).

But during those long, cold days, I have taken a tumble or two when my leg has fallen alseep after prolonged sitting. And I’ve taken an ibuprofen or two for my back as well. To tell the truth, I’m not as young as I used to be. Those backache spells take longer and longer to heal.

So don’t sit at your computer all day without taking a little break, grasshopper, no matter how scathingly brilliant your writing is going. Get up and put a load of clothes in the washer. Take a shower, for heaven’s sake. Or help me find a bashing stick. ‘Cause Sally dog just found another lizard.

For those of you who regularly follow the Road to Publication, you know I’m working in children’s lit these days through a course at the Institute for Children’s Literature. For those of you just dropping in, now you know, too. Isn’t catching up grand?

I love this course. And not just because I happen to have an instructor who loves me. I love it because I’m learning so much. To be honest, I thought I knew the ins and outs of children’s writing. I took the course for the one-on-one feedback. And I get plenty of terrific feedback. But I’ve also learned a ton of children’s lit tidbits. And I thought, gee, why don’t I share? Maybe some little bit will make the difference in that children’s story you’re working on.

Like the age thing. I’d written a dozen stories and never given much thought to the age of my main character. But here’s the thing: the age of your main character determines your reading level. That’s important to know. You don’t want to write a story at a fifth grade level if your main character is six and a half years old. I had some revising to do in more than one story. In every single instance, the story improved.

Just that one little bit made all the difference.