How do you de-stress?

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So what do you do for fun while having to stay at home during this time of corona?

Ok, time to share something cool (and kinda nerdy) about myself. As I’m sure that many of you know, I’m a writer. I write urban fantasy and I have some books published and available for people to read.

But that’s not the cool thing. I write Fanfiction as a way to de-stress. What is fanfiction you ask? That’s where you take a story or character from an already established book (think Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings) and then write a story about it from your own perspective. Don’t like how the story ended? Rewrite it the way that you would’ve liked it to end. Want to explore a character more in-depth? Write a story about them and/or throw them into a totally different situation and try to predict how they react.

This is really fun for me, because it allows me to explore already created characters and worlds, but from my point of view. It’s been a great way to help take my mind away from the craziness that it currently our world. Also, I’ve had several people comment that it helped them de-stress and forget their problems for a little while, which made me very happy.

I mainly write in The Hobbit fandom featuring a female Bilbo Baggins, although someday I may expand beyond that into other fandoms.

Curious? Wanna check it out?

Here’s the link for my largest (currently at about 160k words), most popular fic, a “Fix-it Fic”if you will:

Only in My Dreams:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/21115682/chapters/50247068

And here is the link for a place where my various one shots land. These are story snippets that wouldn’t leave me in peace but didn’t quite have enough material for a full story by itself:

Female Bilbo Oneshots
https://archiveofourown.org/works/22775707/chapters/54423808

So what are you doing to unwind during these trying times? I’d love to hear from you!

Wellness

So as a writer today, a large part of our job is creating a social media platform for ourselves. Part of that can be blogging, tweeting, newsletters, fb, etc. It shows that we know how to spread word about what we’re doing as well as letting us get to see what all the other amazing things are going on out there. I’ve been working on building my platform by engaging daily in fb and twitter. Something I like about twitter is that I can see what is trending and what people are talking about each day when I go on. A tag that caught my eye today was #WellnessWednesday.

It got me to thinking. How often does our health take last place in our busy lives? How often do we put ourselves in very last place as we try to take care of every that this world throws at us plus squeeze in a little time for writing? So here are a few simple suggestions/tips to help you have a better day.

1. Get out in the sunshine

There is nothing better then a cheerful dose of sunshine to make your day better. There’s a ton of studies about vitamin D and blah blah blah. (I’m not really in a scientific mood today, lol). But seriously, take a few minutes and step out into those rays. Soak up the warmth and the light, let it wash away your worries for a bit. If you’re walking to a car, take a moment to just lean against your car, close your eyes, and tilt your head back to the heavens and just be.

2. Drink some water

This world takes our energy faster than we can produce it. I honestly don’t know some days how people could function without coffee or energy drinks. (Sleep would be nice, but eh, you can sleep when you’re dead, right?). But your body would really appreciate some water. Caffeine dehydrates the body and can make you feel dull and dragging. I’m not saying try to drink half your body weight in ounces or anything, but adding in a glass or two of water during the day will definitely have your body saying thank you.

3. Take five minutes and breathe deeply

We carry so much on our shoulders each day that we literally forget to take deep breaths. I didn’t even realize it until my mom mentioned it to me. But sit down and try to breathe deeply for five minutes, just a slow deep in and out. Until I tried doing that, I didn’t realize how shallow my breathing was or how often I even hold my breath. By breathing deeply, we provide more oxygen to our bloodstream with perks up our bloodflow, which leads to clearer thinking and more energy. A win-win in my book.

4. Smile

I know that this sounds simple and silly, but it’s really not. By smiling, even if it’s a forced one, you’re sending your brain the signal that good things are going to happen. Now, I’m not saying fake a smile and pretend that everything is all right. That is not healthy. We are allowed to have issues and not be alright all the time. But if your just sitting at your desk or making yourself a sandwich in the kitchen, then go ahead and put a smile on your face. You’ll find your mood boosting and smiles are contagious, so maybe you’ll brighten someone else’s day as well 🙂

5. Put on some music

Music is a wonderful way of self expression. It’s a way to say what you are thinking or feeling without having to say a word. When I write, I have songs that signify certain characters or songs that I listen to when I’m trying to capture a certain mood. (Think of those shows where you always know which character is there by their theme music, it’s pretty cool). So put on some music and be you!

So that’s all I have for today, if I missed anything, I hope that you’ll leave a comment and share your simple ways to be a better, happier you 🙂

Happy Wednesday!