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

[LD]

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!)

My degree is a Bachelor of Science, but it's still an artistic degree (architectural).  So I've been drawing my whole life and that's what everyone associates with me.  They have a design problem, they come to me.  Having said that, these are definitely not bad.  Nice job!  :Tup4a:  Though that first one is disturbing, like a love child of Medusa and Lucifer.  Haha. 


I like to play video games.  Something that requires little thinking.

[LD]

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 love the bench and the bridge!

[Al Stevens]

Years ago, I had a darkroom in a spare bathroom at home. I spent a lot of time in there. Them days is gone forever. I have film cameras gathering dust on the shelf that haven't been picked up in years. Some old-timer purists disagree, but I really prefer digital photography.

I have shelves of LP phonograph records too. Can't bring myself to toss them out even though I haven't had a working turntable in years. And, oh yeah, the reel-to-reel tapes. Many are recordings of bands I played in. Deteriorating away on another shelf.

[PaulJWhite]

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!)

Those are amazing! The anatomy is spot on (tricky with the arm foreshortening) and the detail in the eyeball is fantastic. I usually try and fudge any lines, but your edges are crisp and confident, really good!

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

"The best time for planning a book is when you're doing the dishes." Agatha Christie.

or: cleaning the fridge -or behind it, dusting under the bed, tidying your office - especially dusting behind the computer, bathing the dog, cleaning the car, vacuuming inside the car, sorting out drawers, sweeping the garage, washing curtains, cleaning carpets, sorting the filing cabinet ...

Who has time for hobbies 

[Tonyonline]

I love messing about with my photo editor and designer, some I do lots too, others not so much, but either way most of mine tend to end up freaky...how I roll 

                       


I do like to watch, lectures, documentaries and talks about science, from quantum mechanics to black holes, to help clear my mind, but what really works when I just want to completely empty out my head and not think, about anything, is the rain...thank goodness for youtube and the many who upload vids like this...

[Rose Andrews]

Not really a hobby but I'm a mom and veterinary assistant in my other life (also studying to earn my technician certification). Caring for my son and animals is so rewarding and fills my heart with love. I get to meet some pretty interesting people at the vet clinic, too, people doing right by their animals and I love seeing that. When I get home, I'm exhausted but writing relaxes me. I don't get to write every day but do so mostly on my days off or if I have energy after work in the evenings sometimes. Writing novels is like my own private time.

[Post-Doctorate D]

I occasionally also do simple electronics projects.  One day maybe my soldering skills will reach a decent level.

[Rosie Scott]

Video gaming and hands-on DIY work. Video games inspire my writing because I tend to write about strategic warfare and I love strategy games of all types (grand, 4x, RTS, etc.). My most recent series was inspired by a mix of my experiences leading armies in Mount & Blade and wielding magic in multiple RPGs. It made me want a series where a powerful mage/necromancer takes over the world with armies of loyal soldiers, so that's what I wrote.

I also like building/fixing things. Furniture, property, models of things I'm interested in (cars, trains, medieval siege weapons). This doesn't really inspire me, per se, but the siege weapons make appearances in my fantasy books during conquests. Because I have an interest in engineering I also had fun designing new types of siege weapons combining real medieval designs and the technology of the dwarves in my books. Maybe someday I'll get to building models of my own designs; that might be a fun project to take on! 

[R H Auslander]

I build 1/16 tanks, generally but not always Tamiya. They are infrarot battle compatible so I also build competition grade transmissions for them. Both hobbies are a pleasant diversion from the stress of life and clear the air for writing time. When I'm at an impasse when writing, nothing calms things down like popping down to the tank fabrik and doing that little detail on the photo etched gun cleaning rods for the Tiger B or Tiger E or designing the mounts for the power system in the IS 2.
My wife and I also do a lot of work in regards to the restoration of period vehicles at 35th Battery Museum, plus we teach history classes for ages 10 through 16 at Battery. Since we don't officially have any 'two leg' children, working with the youngsters is a very pleasant interlude. The children are quite amazing and last week one of them gave me an idea for another book!

[DougM]

When it comes to visuals and art, I no longer believe in bad photos, drawings, or paintings. Context is everything. However, i do believe in well used photos, drawings, and paintings.

The Mona Lisa is awesome, but it would make a horrible Military SF cover. Even a crude starship drawing by a 10 year old would make a better military SF cover than the Mona Lisa. That's what I mean by context.

As for art, I'm always doing some sort of art so that I can improve my cover layout skills. I just got off a run of abstract digital art using Krita. I had a blast.

[Wifey]

Yoga and walking

[munboy]

I honestly need to figure something out for me. I have a hard time getting going when I sit down to write cold. But all my hobbies are time intensive and I have a hard time putting stuff down once I start. So, if I do something to try to clear my head, I'll keep on working through my writing time.

[Writer]

I do graphic design when I need a change of pace. And can I call yard work a hobby? I don't enjoy it but it does give me a chance to rest my mind and go on auto-pilot.

[oganalp]

Gaming, working on branding stuff, reading, more gaming, my pets, aikido, beer, graphic design and drawing.

[Rob Martin]

Watch repair. It's been a hobby since I was young. I just kinda get lost in the minutia.

[sandree]

I love the illustration of the eye - so sharp and detailed!

I used to be a lampwork glass beadmaker for many years, and have dabbled in fused glass and hand weaving. I don't do lampwork any more as the heat of the torch is too much for me now.

I make some other jewelry when I need a break - watercolor and ink with glass cabs and some base metal earrings.

I like to game too. My latest addiction is Through the Ages - strategy game on my iPad.

[Jeff Tanyard]

I build 1/16 tanks, generally but not always Tamiya. They are infrarot battle compatible so I also build competition grade transmissions for them. Both hobbies are a pleasant diversion from the stress of life and clear the air for writing time. When I'm at an impasse when writing, nothing calms things down like popping down to the tank fabrik and doing that little detail on the photo etched gun cleaning rods for the Tiger B or Tiger E or designing the mounts for the power system in the IS 2.
My wife and I also do a lot of work in regards to the restoration of period vehicles at 35th Battery Museum, plus we teach history classes for ages 10 through 16 at Battery. Since we don't officially have any 'two leg' children, working with the youngsters is a very pleasant interlude. The children are quite amazing and last week one of them gave me an idea for another book!

I'd like to see the 1/16 tanks.  Can you post pics?

[keithsink]

- Boardgames and associated conventions
- Music
- Reading
- Travel

[Nom de Plume]

Pottery is my number one love outside of writing, but I had to quit for a while due to an inflammation thing in my chest (use that area a lot when working on the wheel).  I'm not great at it, came to it late in life, but it is the only thing that has ever absorbed me the way that writing does.  I used to dream about my characters sitting around throwing pots together.  I'm hoping to take it up again soon.

Other than that, I play piano, do all kinds of art (digital, sculpture, drawing, painting, polymer clay, bookmaking, etc.), try really hard not to kill plants, and crochet.  Crocheting is really great for getting your mind to quiet down and giving your hands something to do while you think through plotting and all that.  It's also nice because it's something I can just pick up when I have a very short amount of time (like, always) and then put down again.

Attached is a pic of an art book I made for a giveaway for a new release.

[Tonyonline]

Attached is a pic of an art book I made for a giveaway for a new release.

I was just looking at a similar cover on this thread Most awesome book covers but that cover wasn't really my thing, however, your one...Yes, I like that...lots, it's classy cool.
 

[Nom de Plume]

Attached is a pic of an art book I made for a giveaway for a new release.

I was just looking at a similar cover on this thread Most awesome book covers but that cover wasn't really my thing, however, your one...Yes, I like that...lots, it's classy cool.
 

Thanks!  It was a ton of work but it was so much fun to give away something one-of-a-kind for my book release and the fan who won it really appreciated it.  That's the first sculptural cover book that I've given away, but I did another hand-bound, signed edition of a book for a previous giveaway and that was a huge success as well. 

[WasAnn]

Pottery is my number one love outside of writing, but I had to quit for a while due to an inflammation thing in my chest (use that area a lot when working on the wheel).  I'm not great at it, came to it late in life, but it is the only thing that has ever absorbed me the way that writing does.  I used to dream about my characters sitting around throwing pots together.  I'm hoping to take it up again soon.

Other than that, I play piano, do all kinds of art (digital, sculpture, drawing, painting, polymer clay, bookmaking, etc.), try really hard not to kill plants, and crochet.  Crocheting is really great for getting your mind to quiet down and giving your hands something to do while you think through plotting and all that.  It's also nice because it's something I can just pick up when I have a very short amount of time (like, always) and then put down again.

Attached is a pic of an art book I made for a giveaway for a new release.

OMG...I just squealed in delight. That's beautiful! Do you mind giving us more deets? Is it polymer clay? Did you have to account for shrinkage? What paper did you use? Was it a print of your book you did yourself and if so, how did you do it in quattro or what-not?

So many questions. So much squee.

[Post-Doctorate D]

Pottery is my number one love outside of writing, but I had to quit for a while due to an inflammation thing in my chest . . .

I initially read that as "Poetry is . . ." and wondered why chest inflammation would make you have to quit writing poetry.

[Jeff Tanyard]

There's some impressive work in this thread.   

[Nom de Plume]

Pottery is my number one love outside of writing, but I had to quit for a while due to an inflammation thing in my chest (use that area a lot when working on the wheel).  I'm not great at it, came to it late in life, but it is the only thing that has ever absorbed me the way that writing does.  I used to dream about my characters sitting around throwing pots together.  I'm hoping to take it up again soon.

Other than that, I play piano, do all kinds of art (digital, sculpture, drawing, painting, polymer clay, bookmaking, etc.), try really hard not to kill plants, and crochet.  Crocheting is really great for getting your mind to quiet down and giving your hands something to do while you think through plotting and all that.  It's also nice because it's something I can just pick up when I have a very short amount of time (like, always) and then put down again.

Attached is a pic of an art book I made for a giveaway for a new release.

OMG...I just squealed in delight. That's beautiful! Do you mind giving us more deets? Is it polymer clay? Did you have to account for shrinkage? What paper did you use? Was it a print of your book you did yourself and if so, how did you do it in quattro or what-not?

So many questions. So much squee.

It was a lot of fun (and a lot of figuring out).  The hardest part, I think, was in formatting and arranging the insides of the book.  I used this free program for printing the signatures:
 http://quantumelephant.co.uk/bookbinder/bookbinder.html

I used Southworth Parchment Paper (24lb) in Copper (https://www.amazon.com/Southworth-Parchment-Specialty-inches-894C/dp/B0013CKJ7S) and sized so that each page would be 1/2 the size of a sheet of paper (which makes a book fairly close to 6x9).  Printed on my own printer (much easier if your printer will print double-sided for you).

This thread for binding: https://www.dickblick.com/products/waxed-thread/  I have tried some other ones and they are not the same!

Here's a tutorial for doing the coptic binding: https://www.wikihow.com/Coptic-Bind-a-Book

Here's a video I put up of the process of making the cover (the second time around, haha, because I burnt the first one!)

[/youtube]  (I sound like a five-year-old, by the way.)  It's made out of polymer clay, and no it doesn't shrink much at all, so that's not really a problem.  I also added some carnelian beads and used mica powder and acrylic paint to bring out some of the textures.  You have to be reallllllly careful with your oven temperature, though.  The first time I was using an old convection oven that actually went psycho at the very end (and got tossed in the trash).  I now use my kitchen oven and shield with foil. 

Here's a link to a blog post that has a lot of pics of the first handbound book I gave away, including info and pics showing how it was made. http://www.katewrath.com/enter-for-a-chance-to-own-lilys-journal/  This book is supposed to be a journal written by my main character, and so I printed it in a font that looks like handwriting and tried to otherwise make it authentically journal-like.

I think that's about it.  If you have any more questions, feel free to holler.  It was such a fun process and I can imagine I'll be making more in the future.  I def recommend trying it out if you have artistic skills and a lot of patience because it makes such a special giveaway for your fans.    (Or hell, keep it for yourself!)