Hi, Sherry Kyle, here from my laptop in California. 

Does life have you running at a dizzying pace? Mine does. In fact, I didn’t realize how busy I was
until this past Saturday morning when I experienced vertigo. The room spun and I dropped on my bed. I thought I was going to faint and prayed for God to help me. After a phone call to my doctor, I discovered I had vertigo, or a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear. I laid low all weekend hoping it would go away. The vertigo has lessened, but I still feel as though I’m in motion. 

What does this have to do with writing? Hold on, I’ll get there . . . 

Once a month writers in my area get together to talk shop. We support, encourage and commiserate with one another about our writing journeys. For one reason or another I haven’t been able to go all summer and I looked forward to hanging out with this group of women today at noon. Well, I missed it. Forgot all about it until it was too late. My reason? Vertigo. I’ve been so out of it that I barely remembered today was Monday.

Life can get that way when we put too much on our plate. Besides writing the book of our dreams, we blog, social network, and attempt to keep up with e-mails. Maybe we also write articles or have a blogtalk radio program. And that’s not including other areas of marketing. It makes me dizzy thinking about what writers are expected to do in order to get our names in front of possible readers. 

What can we do to keep ourselves from having writer’s vertigo? 

• Get organized—buy a calendar and mark it up!
• Don’t say, “yes” to everything that comes your way. (Ex. You don’t need to write five blogs. Remember, everything in moderation!) 
• Network. Know who to go to for sound writer’s advice. (I sent an e-mail just last week to an author and she responded with the answer I was looking for.)
• Take a few days off without guilt!
• Pace yourself, especially if you have a deadline.
• Remember there are people in your life beside your characters that need attention, such as your husband, children, and friends.
• Volunteer. There’s nothing like sharing your gifts with others. You’ll be blessed beyond belief.
• Sleep. Seven to eight hours a night, if you can.
• Eat right. Stock up on vegetables and fruits for quick snacks.
• Exercise.  Walk, go to Zumba, or join a gym. Anything to get you out of your chair.
• And most important, spend part of your day with God! 

I’m praying my vertigo goes away soon! How about you?

Psalm 62:5 says, "Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him."