Why dancing is good for your writing

How's your haiku coming along? There is only ONE WEEK LEFT to enter your original haiku in the WNI Can You Haiku contest! For those who've taken a stab at writing haiku, we'd love to hear about your experience. Is it easy? Hard? Do you find the boundary of the 5-7-5 syllable pattern, restrictive or freeing? We encourage even the non-poets among us to try writing haiku. You might be surprised at how fun it is! Send your favorites (up to 3) to wnicontest@gmail.com by midnight, June 15, 2012, and you could win a prize! (As always, there's no cost to enter.)

The other thing that's been on my mind this week is, of all things, dancing. In preparation for leading a line-dance session at a retreat this weekend (okay, scoff if you must, but SOME physical activity is needed after all that time folded into chairs, listening to speakers,  and eating, eating, eating....!), I've been punctuating my writing and editing days with bursts of cuttin' the rug. As a result, I've concluded that dancing is the perfect antidote to hours of sitting in front of the computer. Here's why:

*We tend to write and edit in private, which means we can dance in private, too, which means nobody's laughing at us, like they did when we attempted to do the Electric Slide at Cousin Tillie's wedding.

*Long hours spent in front of the computer or hunched over a writing desk curves our bodies into an unattractive and unhealthy C-shape. After a while, we start to ossify. Not only does it just plain feel good to get up and move once in a while, but it's beneficial for our joints and ligaments and internal organs and circulation and probably some other stuff, too.

*The weather's been lousy all week here in North Idaho. Hiking, biking, and even gardening have no appeal, but dancing is a weatherproof activity.

*Experts suggest that deskbound workers get up and move every so often. Yeah, right. In the middle of an intense writing session, who has time for that? You do, when the length of one song is a measly three or four minutes. Look for a song you like that "has a good beat, you can dance to it," as they used to say on American Bandstand (RIP Dick Clark). Here's a good one--just be careful not to hurt yourself. :-)

*Music is good for your brain and gives it a rest from all that wordy-work. And you might even get some fabulous insight or inspiration while you're tripping the light fantastic, your mind free to float at will.

So step away from the keyboard, crank the tunes, and start bobbing and weaving. You'll be glad you did!