10 Small Lifestyle Changes to Make You a Better Writer: Being a writer is not just a fad or phase wherein you write effortlessly. In order to be a good, long term writer, like in any other profession, it is important to work on self-enhancement and self-improvement. And often, it’s not one drastic life decision that fosters this but gradual, small lifestyle changes and habit changes that makes self-enhancement possible. So here is a list of 10 small things you can do in your daily life to make you a better writer.
10 Small Lifestyle Changes to Make You a Better Writer
Sleep Earlier
The human body has circadian rhythms, which are regular cycles or biological clocks that are inbuilt into the human body. Sleep is one of these. As soon as the sun sets, the brain instructs the body to slow down its mental processes in order to induce rest and recovery through sleep. When we mess up circadian rhythms by prolonging sleep, the mind doesn’t function optimally. Sleeping on time can thus improve mental facilities and writing skills.
Promenade more
Walks are conducive to creativity and not just because they prompt ideas and provide plentiful inspiration. Walks are also great because psychological studies show that while doing something as automatic as walking, just enough amount of mental resources are used so as to obstruct rational thoughts that prevent creative thinking. Creative currents thus flow unhindered. Forest bathing, walking during sunsets, and exploring new areas of cities may help.
Play chess or scrabble
Games like chess and scrabble are very enjoyable, but they’re also very good for the brain. They sharpen the intellect, prompt decision making, and thinking and get the mental gears going. This will put you in an intellectual mindset wherein you think more readily and promptly. Including this as a part of your lifestyle can elevate the level at which you think, making you a more thoughtful and engaging writer. Scrabble also improves vocabulary and verbal skills.
Learn a musical instrument
Neurological studies show that musical instruments are conducive to creative thinking, both artistic and scientific in many ways. Studies show that they reduce stress, which enables clear thinking without worrisome distractions. They also create better moods, which means that you’re more attuned to creative pursuits. Finally, they also enable divergent thinking, which means you can think differently, more creatively and more out of the box.
Read more
This one shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Reading provides immense inspiration for writing, in terms of writing style, vocabulary, genre, structure and voice. It is only through extensive reading that writers understand the territory of words, and they can then use this analysis and apply this knowledge to their own works to make them as true to their vision as possible. Books also unexpectedly prompt story ideas and plot devices.
Eat certain kinds of foods
Studies show that nutrition affects not just physical but also mental health. Eating clean keeps you fit and healthy which allows you to be more productive, for sure. But eating certain kinds of foods can also make you more productive and creative, such as whole grains, fruits like berries and avocados, green leafy vegetables and seeds, according to an article on The Quint. These foods are rich in nutrients that sharpen the brain.
Talk to more people
People are the origin of stories. It is through interaction, conversation and a genuine desire to understand others that the very first stories emerged. Even now, people can be the very source of the work of art you write. Understanding the human condition and the nature of humanity as well as individual stories will make you a deeper and more real writer. Plus, it will also make you a more empathetic, more sensitive writer with a keen understanding.
Pay more attention to detail
With writing, it’s all about details. Whether it’s sensory or otherwise, details capture the heart of the matter and make the story more tangible for readers. Thus, this detail can be captured in writing if one consciously makes it a habit to pay attention to it in real life too. Thus, looking closely, paying attention and observing silently the details of everything from human faces and flowers to smells, tastes, and textures of objects is a great habit.
Consciously create change
One thing that will promise creativity is change. Because the very basis of creativity is the idea that you need to think of something original, out of the box and unthought of before, it is important to change things around you too. Right from small things like décor pieces to big things like career decisions, shifting things and playing it risky can be best for making you a better writer. A diversity of experience always aids writing, as does unfamiliarity.
Love more
To be the best writer version of oneself, one must love. And by love, I mean, have loving-kindness in the deepest sense of the word. Love the life you live. And love the people in it, Love the environment around you. And love the light, the sound, the feel of everything. Feel love within, for the world, and the world will open up its deepest secrets to you, which you can harvest like grains into words. Consciously love more.
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