The Care and Feeding of Writers by Dorothy Courtis

A number of years ago there was a recurring subject on ACW Facebook posts - cheesecake! For some delightful reason, cheesecake turned up at meetings, author talks etc. and was definitely an essential accessory for the writerly life.

At the time I was on a book tour and had landed up at my sister's in the far north of Scotland for a few days R&R. At lunchtime, she suggested I just check the fridge to see if there was anything I might fancy for 'afters' and no, what awaited me wasn't a slice of cheesecake but a pot of lemon cheesecake yoghurt! 'The best I could do,' she said. (It was delicious!)

I wonder what this year's must-have edible delicacy is? Because we writers need to make sure we keep ourselves fuelled for the calorie-hungry work our brains do. I belong to the generation who were taught to eat up our carrots for the sake of our eyesight and as I peer at my laptop screen, I hope those years of vitamin A consumption will pay off!

Of course, biscuits and fridge contents are a terrible temptation when the writing is not going well. While staying glued to the screen for hours on end is a bad idea, that little wander round the place to stretch the legs can lead us unthinkingly into danger zones.

Caffeine, I reckon, is a necessity for the writing process. (So much wiser than the golden days of Hemingway and such like who were liberally afloat on alcohol.)  My writing sessions are supported by black coffee. I lived in northern Nigeria for five years in the 1970s and fresh cows' milk was unavailable. Instead, there was a rather nasty powdered variety which left gloopy lumps in your tea and coffee so I simply got used to drinking either without milk. 

There was a day when I was deep into writing a novel where my hero suddenly did something very naughty. I found myself heading into the kitchen and putting the kettle on. As I waited for it to boil, I stood there roundly condemning him. 'I can't believe it!' I muttered. 'I'd never have thought he'd do such a thing...' And then I remembered: he wasn't real! I'd invented him! Coffee and laughter accompanied me back to my desk and my naughty hero!

And I didn't count my steps. I count my words after every writing session but it strikes me the few steps I take each day between desk and kitchen etc won't amount to the least respectable quota. I am grateful that in today's news it was announced that instead of aiming for a basic 10,000 steps each day, a mere 7,000 is sufficient for significant health benefits. So I might take another look at that step-counting watch that's gathering dust on my dressing table.

After all 'mens sana in corpore sano' and we definitely need to keep ourselves fit enough in mind, body and spiritually to run our race to the finishing line, even if most of the time we're glued to our chairs and screens!

Dorothy Courtis writes as Dorothy Stewart. She is currently at work on Book 3 of her Somerset mystery series, with Book 4 knocking impatiently to be allowed out. Immersed in all things forensic, murderous, and poisonous, her Google search history is definitely incriminating. Her books are all available on Amazon (and good independent bookstores) and on Kindle Unlimited.