What hobbies do you have to help clear your head for writing?

[WasAnn]

Over the years, I've heard about some amazing stuff writers do when they're not writing. Some say they absolutely need these things to clear their head of stories and characters so they can move on. Some say they plot their books while doing such hobbies.

I've heard of everything from marathon running to gardening to wildlife rescue to mountain climbing. I don't do anything fantastic, but I'd like to know what you do and how it helps you as an author.

I'm an egregiously bad painter as a hobby. I took it up a couple of years ago so I could get the characters out of my head and onto paper. I call it exorcising the demons. It really helped. Also, it turns out that readers like to see the paintings and see how I see the things they read.

[Simon Haynes]

Bike riding, and renovating and repairing old bikes (bicycles, not motorbikes.)  Going for a 15km bike ride is a great way to clear the cobwebs and think about a problem in my novels - it requires a LOT less concentration than driving.

Woodworking and carpentry - no practical use, except for the thinking time.

Target archery, although it's been a while now. Takes a lot of hours out of the day, detrimental to writing.

PC gaming. Not conducive to writing at all ;-)   I do like sandbox games though, where you just build stuff. Minecraft, Space Engineers, that kind of thing. It's creative, not destructive.

Board gaming with a couple of close friends. We play complex games, really good for keeping the brain sharp. I'm no slouch, but the pair of them usually beat me. I don't mind, because it makes it sweeter when I do manage to win at something!

Digital art - just plain fun.

Computer programming is a big one. It's a hobby, mostly, but if I was forced to give up writing or programming, I'd give up writing. (Financial considerations aside. I just love the way programs come together from nothing. There's that constructing/building gene again.)

In the past .. sailing, windsurfing, a few track days with my car, that kind of thing. Bet I've missed a lot out.

If I had the time and money I think I'd go for a private pilot's licence.

[HSh]

Gardening, with a particular aim towards creating a permaculture system.  It's an interest of mine I'm now able to pursue on a small scale.  I've got fruit trees planted and I'm learning more all the time.  It works well for me because I can set it aside when I'm busy or don't have any energy for it, but when I do, it's variable exercise and a healthy distraction. 

[WasAnn]

Okay. Wasn't going to show them, but now that other people are responding, I feel okay to share. Here are two of my egregiously bad paintings.

NOTE: All my degrees are in the sciences, like physics. I've never taken an art class or anything, so yes, I know I'm very bad. It's loads of fun though!



And this is my eyeball, painted by looking through a macro lens into a mirror. (I also did one of a reader's eyeball!)

[Lex]

Sewing. I was a fashion designer for 15 years before I started writing full time, so I have five or six unwritten books partially plotted out as a result of daydreaming while sewing. When I was still making clothes for a living, the story ideas seemed to dribble out of my brain like a leaky faucet.


Gardening, cooking, and digital art get an honorable mention. And I've had a fair number of story epiphanies while I pace around my house trying to get my stupid 10,000 Fitbit steps.

P.S. Those paintings are amazing, WasAnn!

[HSh]

:Tup4a:

"Egregiously bad paintings"    Do you underestimate all your skills this way?  These are amazing.   

[WasAnn]

Bike riding, and renovating and repairing old bikes (bicycles, not motorbikes.)  Going for a 15km bike ride is a great way to clear the cobwebs and think about a problem in my novels - it requires a LOT less concentration than driving.

Woodworking and carpentry - no practical use, except for the thinking time.

Target archery, although it's been a while now. Takes a lot of hours out of the day, detrimental to writing.

PC gaming. Not conducive to writing at all ;-)   I do like sandbox games though, where you just build stuff. Minecraft, Space Engineers, that kind of thing. It's creative, not destructive.

Board gaming with a couple of close friends. We play complex games, really good for keeping the brain sharp. I'm no slouch, but the pair of them usually beat me. I don't mind, because it makes it sweeter when I do manage to win at something!

Digital art - just plain fun.

Computer programming is a big one. It's a hobby, mostly, but if I was forced to give up writing or programming, I'd give up writing. (Financial considerations aside. I just love the way programs come together from nothing. There's that constructing/building gene again.)

In the past .. sailing, windsurfing, a few track days with my car, that kind of thing. Bet I've missed a lot out.

If I had the time and money I think I'd go for a private pilot's licence.

Oh my goodness! How do you have enough time in the day! Also, I've always wanted to learn archery. I did it in camp and at school, but that's not the same as really learning it.

[katc]

Sculpting, digital art and art using oil pastels.
I agree. I don't think you should downplay your skills. Those paintings are so good. Love the eye.

[JimJohnson]

Various forms of building or making things. Building LEGO sets or creating random creations with the bricks, either on my own or with my 3-year old. Jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, card games and board games. Doodling in a sketch book (I'm an amateur cartographer and love drawing maps for fantasy worlds or SF settings--artifact of pen and paper RPGs). The latter is dangerous, though, because I'll end up drawing an awesome map and coloring it in and then the story possibilities hit hard and fast and suddenly I'm plotting out a series.

[guest247]

Baking and photography.

[Alec Hutson]

Ultimate frisbee. An incredibly fun sport. I played it seriously in my twenties, and it wasn't until a series of debilitating injuries (torn ACLs, herniated back) in my early thirties that I turned to writing to fill the time. I play recreationally now, having gotten too out of shape, unfortunately, and I do miss that feeling of sprinting down a field and laying to catch a pass, or having a great one-on-one battle with another good athlete. Traveling to other countries to play in tournaments with a bunch of great teammates. Ah, the memories make me nostalgic.

Writing has been fantastic, but I do miss the camaraderie.   

[Eric Thomson]

Scuba diving, photography, hiking and....

building scale models of the starships featured in my books 

[RCoots]

I have a number of hobbies, but going for a walk and drawing always seem to help with the writing. I get my characters out of my head and into a visual form, design wardrobes, etc.

[WasAnn]

Scuba diving, photography, hiking and....

building scale models of the starships featured in my books 

That is absolutely amazing! How do you even start that? I mean, do you custom make the pieces?

[Eric Thomson]

Scuba diving, photography, hiking and....

building scale models of the starships featured in my books 

That is absolutely amazing! How do you even start that? I mean, do you custom make the pieces?

I find a commercial kit to use as basis and then modify it to suit my ideas by building it in a different configuration than the manufacturer intended, using parts from my leftover bins, using styrene plastic stock to form new parts, etc.  It takes a little imagination to see how a commercial kit can become the starship I want, but as a bonus, when I want to describe the ship in my books now, all I have to do is glance at the shelf beside my desk and voila.

[WasAnn]

Scuba diving, photography, hiking and....

building scale models of the starships featured in my books 

That is absolutely amazing! How do you even start that? I mean, do you custom make the pieces?

I find a commercial kit to use as basis and then modify it to suit my ideas by building it in a different configuration than the manufacturer intended, using parts from my leftover bins, using styrene plastic stock to form new parts, etc.  It takes a little imagination to see how a commercial kit can become the starship I want, but as a bonus, when I want to describe the ship in my books now, all I have to do is glance at the shelf beside my desk and voila.

Oh great, now I have something new and very, very shiny to immediately go spend gobs of money on so I can try to create a ship.     

[Anarchist]

Chess and poker.

[Trioxin 245]

Going out for a few pints when a book is complete.  But during and right before/after a project,  walking and meditating or doing both at the same time help clears the mind.

[Al Stevens]

Many things. (I like threads where we get to talk about ourselves. )


I'm a retired jazz musician and computer programmer. Either of those activities could keep my leisure time occupied all day. But I just noodle at them now. Code some, compose some, arrange some, but mostly just plunk away.


Book covers. My own. It's a great diversion from writing. I've even begun a WIP with the cover. I'm not very good at it, but I enjoy it.


I was a newspaper cartoonist years ago. I still like to sketch. I drew my avatar for a book several years ago.


Pilot. Grounded when the FAA decided that insulin and avgas don't mix. Now I fly PC-based simulators just for the hell of it.


The weirdest hobby I have is building ventriloquist dummies. I was a performing comedy ventriloquist for years. I slowed down as my vision got worse. To get to a gig, you need to drive at night.


Naps. More and more as I get older. Usually with a cat sleeping on my chest.


And, of course, reading.

[fleurina]

Not so much a hobby s something I've done every day since the early 90s - Transcendental Meditation - it clears away lots of cobwebs. Also yoga (when I can be bothered), walking and reading.  And I love to languish in cafes - tea, coffee, reading, scones, cake and chat.

[J R Fletcher]

Photography and walking my dogs.  Luckily, I can combine the two

Wandering around taking photos is a great way to soothe your soul (and spend money...).  And I find it an absorbing hobby - always learning and trying to improve.

Anyway, if anyone's interested, I regularly upload to Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/153306400@N02/

[dgcasey]

Painting, drawing and birding. Used to play guitar, but the hands have gone, so I had to give that up.

[Becca Mills]

Cooking and baking, crossword puzzles, reading, listening to talk radio, doing stuff with the kids, working with the dogs, reading aloud to and talking with my spouse ... I'm realizing I have no interesting or unusual hobbies whatsoever. I used to be into photography, but the interest didn't survive the transition away from film cameras, for some reason. I like to draw but am not terribly good at it. It'd be fun to take lessons, if that's even a thing for grown-ups. I am a birder <waves at dgcasey>, but the area I live now isn't great for it.

[katc]

Photography and walking my dogs.  Luckily, I can combine the two

Wandering around taking photos is a great way to soothe your soul (and spend money...).  And I find it an absorbing hobby - always learning and trying to improve.

Anyway, if anyone's interested, I regularly upload to Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/153306400@N02/

Beautiful photos here and on Flickr.

[J R Fletcher]

Beautiful photos here and on Flickr.

Awww, thank you, very kind. 

I've posted hundreds of pics up there.  In the unlikely event anyone sees anything they want to use for a book cover, feel free to use it.

[WasAnn]

Photography and walking my dogs.  Luckily, I can combine the two

Wandering around taking photos is a great way to soothe your soul (and spend money...).  And I find it an absorbing hobby - always learning and trying to improve.

Anyway, if anyone's interested, I regularly upload to Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/153306400@N02/

::snip:::

Wow! Those are fantastic! Do you upload to stock sites?

[Max]

Photography and walking my dogs.  Luckily, I can combine the two

Wandering around taking photos is a great way to soothe your soul (and spend money...).  And I find it an absorbing hobby - always learning and trying to improve.

Anyway, if anyone's interested, I regularly upload to Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/153306400@N02/

I just found my new hobby: spending time on that page. Stunning work!

[J R Fletcher]

Stock sites - no, only to Flickr and another couple of forums.  I'm not interested in making any money out of photography. 

Like I say, though, if anyone wants to use any of them for book covers, they're quite welcome.  The full-size images are available on Flickr (PM me if you need me to send any sort of declaration or anything like that, more than happy to do so).

[A. N. Onymous]

Playing Scrabble online, reading, woodcarving, or playing with my pet sheep...Fudge and Crumpet.

[Post-Doctorate D]

Well, I won't embarrass myself by posting my photos and drawings in this talented group so . . .

I sometimes like to fix things that other people would probably just throw away, like this concrete duck.  Or maybe it's cement.  One of the two.  I still need to repaint that one.

I used to blog more regularly.  Does that count as a hobby?  I had hoped to make money with it but didn't so it was probably a hobby.  Some of you who have been blogging for years might remember viral links.  The idea was that you'd do a post and link to a bunch of other blogs and they'd do the same and link to you.  Seemed kind of boring to me so I would spend way too much time making stories out of the links like this "Web Trek."

I occasionally do silly drawings on my iPad then write stories around them for my newsletter.

I also like gardening but haven't done much for several years except for a few container plants and indoor plants.  Pets too.  It's a menagerie around here.  Cats, chihuahuas, doves, some beetles and, most recently, a spider.  I have an aquarium but it's bone dry.  I should remedy that sometime.  Have another tank that's half-aquarium, half-terrarium.  Just plants in there now.  Used to have snails and cyclops in the water but they seem to have all died off.

I also like vintage Macs and am learning how to restore some of the older ones.  Came close to fixing a Macintosh SE/30 but it needs further troubleshooting.  I did manage to assemble a functional Macintosh SE from two Macintosh SEs and a partial SE/30.  The Macintosh SE was initially released in 1987 and I have a story (WIP) that takes place in 1987, so I thought it would be cool to write it on a computer from 1987.  It took me about three years to finally get the Mac SE functional (except the floppy drive still refuses to work) so now I have no excuse not to finish writing that story.  Oy.  Well, except for some compatibility things I need to work out.

And then there are other things I'm forgetting right now.  I have too many interests.  That was why I thought being a writer would be a good plan.  Let's me do anything and everything instead of picking just one.

[Kate Elizabeth]

Walking, reading, cross-stitching, bowling, swimming, and, don't laugh, coloring.

[RCoots]

Walking, reading, cross-stitching, bowling, swimming, and, don't laugh, coloring.

Nothing wrong with coloring! I have too many coloring books that are only half-touched. *eyes the pile*

[Laughing Elephant]

What hobbies do I have to clear my head?
Breathing.


I love my hobby! 

[Vijaya]

Great thread. I love all the talent here. Nice drawings, Ann. And those models! How fun!!
I wish I could build things and draw but I don't. So I color sometimes too, Kate
I like to play piano, cook, play with our pets, and nap with the cats,

[Tiffmeister]

My other hobby besides writing:


Playing Gaelic Harp at Renaissance Fairs around Northern California.


Right now, in the middle of a 6 week run at the Northern California Ren Fair.    Hazzah!

[Hopscotch]

After too many years subordinating my writing to the day (which too often included nights) job, now I only think about writing and I'm happy. 

[WasAnn]

Walking, reading, cross-stitching, bowling, swimming, and, don't laugh, coloring.

Nothing wrong with coloring! I have too many coloring books that are only half-touched. *eyes the pile*

Oh yeah, I jumped on that trend too. I don't want to side eye my pile. LOL. One of the things that made me pick up a brush and put it to paper was doing this entire three part tutorial along with Peta in the Magical City coloring book. It's sooo addictive.

[okey dokey]

Watching old movies to see how stories and characters were developed


photography


listening to music: the 50s, blues, bluegrass, leonard cohn, opera


foreign travel when I can put together a couple of weeks of down time

[PJ Post]

Painting and music (guitar+), which seem to be pretty common for writers/creatives in general. Writers playing instruments or musicians writing. Painters doing all of it. We should probably have a thread around here somewhere.

My problem is not having enough time to do everything I want, lately, the writing has been suffering for my music, along with the neighbors. 

[cecilia_writer]

Some of my hobbies seem to be things that clutter up my head even more instead of clearing it! (This includes all kinds of historical research) I usually find walking, travel and sleep are the best things for clearing my mind, and I don't suppose sleep really counts as a hobby.

[A Fading Street]

Painting (very bad but it clears the head) but the main hobby is walking the two dogs. After a day editing or writing, to get out and get some fresh air, I find it rejuvenating.

[thatquietchick]

J R Fletcher, your photos are beautiful!


Kate Elizabeth, I love coloring!!!


Tiffmeister, playing at Renaissance fairs sounds so fun!


I am the queen of useless hobbies. They are usually passionate and short-lived, but sometimes they stick. 


My current distractions: Walking, hiking, camping. Traveling within my means, which ends up being a lot of road trips. I used to take a lot of photos, but my primary lens broke and I haven't yet coughed up the funds to replace it. I enjoy doodling in my journals, which end up being something between a bullet journal and a sketchbook. Journal stickers! Paper crafts. Collecting art supplies that go unused. Gardening. Weeding my lawn, ugh! Picking up a new instrument every 2-5 years so that I'll never get quite advanced at it—my current obsession is violin. And I would really love my next hobby to be kayaking! I've been itching to get out on the water for years.

[Max]

Riding the bike, body permitting.
Sitting on the beach, weather permitting.
Nature walks.
Not sure if these are considered hobbies, but they can clear a head.
Thinking I'd like to take up sketching.

[DougM]

Washing the dishes by hand with no entertainment.
JRPGs (which doubled as research for Crystal Hope)
A full time job
The cat insisting that now would be a good lap time, thank you.

[TheLadyNyra]

I cross stitch, colour in, walk the dog, and do jigsaw puzzles. Cross stitch is the biggest hobby I have.
Although, tbf, writing for myself is still a hobby at present (I wish it was my profession!)

[Michelle Louring]

Gaming is probably the hobby that's most helpful to my writing. Sometimes you just need to experience a different kind of story-telling to get the creative juices flowing 

Except from that, I do cosplay, which means I spend a lot of time making and dressing up in weird costumes.
I also volunteer at geeky conventions where I host events for the guests.
And though my groups rarely get together, I also enjoy a good Dungeons & Dragons session.
Oh, and if I ever get my butt off the couch, I'll be back to doing archery!

This summary is already very, very nerdy, and I haven't even included the owl yet 

[The Doctor]

Well, housework isn't a hobby, but I find I can come up with story ideas while doing the dishes or tidying up.

Actual hobbies for clearing the head for writing include -

reading(!)
geneology
digital art
creating music using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation - I like using LMMS)

[MadelineKirby]

Knitting is my number one, but I also spin (yarn, not the exercise) when the weather cools off. I like making things.


I also color occasionally - I have a couple of books and I'll reach for one when I hit a block. Using a different part of my brain helps get things going again.


Travel - I try to take a couple of big trips a year. Right now I'm planning my annual road trip (in my RV) to Rhinebeck for the New York Sheep & Wool Festival. I can get a lot of thinking done as I'm driving down the highway!

[bardsandsages]

I'm a gamer. Both video games and tabletop gaming. I run a weekly D&D game (Elder Scrolls Homebrew) and a bi-weekly game (Oathbound: Domains of the Forge). I find tabletop gaming to be a great way to get the creative juices flowing and, sometimes (don't tell my players!) to work through plot issues by recreating scenarios in game and seeing how the players handle them (and thus getting ideas for how my characters might respond).


And when I am really stuck, I log on to my ESO account and just spend an hour assassinating people. Works wonders for stress, too.

[elleoco]

Training and competing with my dogs in obedience, rally, tracking, carting and drafting. I don't think it necessarily clears my head, but it gets me out and about.