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This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world for material to help other writers. Today I discuss how hobbies help you become a better writer….
Writers often believe the best way to improve their work is to spend more time writing or editing.
They are almost always wrong.
Often, the most powerful thing you can do for your writing is to step away from it.
And hobbies can help you do that. Whether gardening, painting, hiking, cooking, or playing an instrument — these activities do more than distract or simply fill your downtime. They give your brain new material to work with. Every hobby teaches something essential to writing: patience, observation, rhythm, or resilience. A gardener learns that growth takes time. A musician learns about tone and pacing. A cook learns to balance ingredients.
A recent post by Julie Carrick Dalton on the Writers Unboxed website, under the headline Creative cross-pollination, explores the many merits of getting our butts OUT of the chair so we can enjoy more hobbies. Here are the benefits Carrick Dalton says hobbies provide:
- Encourage flexibility and resilience by normalizing mistakes and starting over.
- Promote risk-taking, as there’s freedom from the pressure to “get it right.”
- Deepen observational skill, as we use our senses in new ways.
- Provide pride and purpose outside the metrics of publishing.
- Keep our hands (or feet!) busy so the mind can roam.
My hobby is cooking. Lately, I’ve been indulging a cupcake obsession. You should taste my new pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese and browned butter frosting!
Hobbies also help reduce the perfectionism that can paralyze writers. In a hobby, you expect to make mistakes. They’re just part of the learning curve. You burn a cake, you repaint a canvas, you start over. That forgiving mindset can transfer beautifully to your writing life, where experimentation and imperfection are vital to growth.
So, if you’ve been stuck on a sentence or struggling with motivation, give yourself permission to walk away for a while. Go make something else. Go move your body. Go tinker.
