I put together some pilates, some of yoga, a dose of psychology and a tiny essense of Anthropology and made this.
You want me to do what now?
The Typer Dance is a set of movements chosen for their general and psychological benefits that when performed through Nano or any other novelling process, will keep your brain active, your body energetic, but also boost your concentration, self confidence and mental endurance.
Don't knock it until you've tried it! Physical Laziness is as bad for your writing as Mental Laziness. Some of these require space so make sure there are no young siblings or precariously perched vases in your vicinity. So, here we go!
The Pencil
Get up off your chair. Pencils don't sit on chairs.
Reach your arms up into the air and stretch up as high as you can, pointing your hands at the top like a pencil. Bob up and down on your tip toes a few times like a pencil bouncing on its eraser, then see how long you can stay on your toes. The stretch gets the blood flowing round your body, and balancing wakes up your mind and gets your brain back in sync with your body. The Hole-Punch
Feet back flat on the floor, shoulder width apart.
Cross your arms behind you, lift your chin up to the ceiling and gently bend backwards. Keep your eyes on the ceiling and only go back as far as is comfortable. Then - slowly- bring your head to face the floor and with your back straight, bend from the hips like the hinge of a hole-punch. The first pose releases tension in the head, neck and shoulders, and gives them a healthy dose of oxygen. The second does the same, but to your legs and feet. The Squiggle
Now that your page has been hole punched, you need to make some mess. Imagine your shoulders, your arms and hands are made of led. Starting from your fingers and working upwards, shake your arms about to wake them up. Start drawing squiggles in the air, or random letters or words. Reach as high or as low as you can. With this you're aiming to shake the rust off your bones, get rid of any lasting tension and rediscover those 'muscle things' that are wasting away. The Eraser
You've made a mess. Well done! Now stand up straight, imagine your bum is an eraser and there's a big spelling error behind you. Wiggle about and move around. Try doing it on one leg with the other knee raised in the air, then switch it over. This is for the same as above, except with your lower half. The Protagonist Vs Antagonist
This one is fun. Don't be tempted to sit down just yet.
The Antagonist: scrunch up your face, tense your shoulders, clench your fists, and pull the nastiest expression you can. Imagine you're some creepy old witch, or an evil overlord in his lair. The Protagonist: open your eyes and mouth wide, spread out your arms and jump up and down as if you're a love bear or a hippy fairy. Switch between the two every five seconds, each time taking a different dramatic pose- scrunched up and tense for the antagonist and open and relaxed for the protagonist. Keep going for at least a minute until you've run out of characters. Take a deep breath with each pose. If there's nobody around (or if you just don't care) make noises to accompany them; snarls, sighs, cheers, it's all good. Not only does this give you the chance to let out any pent in emotions or frustrations you might have picked up, but it helps to relax your expression when, if you're anything like me, makes you look like a starving zombie after sitting in front of the computer typing for an hour. The Novelist
You've done your imaginary masterpiece and now it's time to celebrate. You want everybody from your neighbourhood dog to the aeroplanes in the sky to notice. Lift your arms in the air and jump up and down on the spot. Do star jumps, wave your arms, bounce back and forth for a while. Beat your chest and raise your legs and let the whole world know. When you're sitting at a computer it's easy to lose track of time, and even to not notice when you're hungry or thirsty. A minute of exercise will set that to rights. Also, cheering is good, whether it's for a few sentences or a whole novel. Allowing yourself to be proud of what you've done so far is important.The Legend
Stand with your feet apart, hands on your hips, chin up, and hold it there for two minutes, like you're posting for a sculpture. Alternately you can put your hands behind your head. Take up as much space as you can and keep your posture straight. This is a confidence pose. It'll calm you down after all your jumping round and prepare you to get back to work- but also! Acting confidence improves your confidence, self esteem (which is crucial in writing) and also makes you more optimistic and less afraid of risks. The longer you hold it, the more effect you'll get. A few other tips
Drink plenty of water and keep a supply of healthy snacks (fruit, nuts, bread sticks and spicy dip are my favourite.) You can never overestimate the basic necessities. Get regular sleep. If you've been studying or working all day it's probably worth taking a nap just to give yourself a break and de-stress. Excersise responsibly. If you get dizzy or light headed while doing the above exercises, or if you feel any pain, then take it slow. Get away from the computer for a while and eat something sweet. If it becomes a common thing then check in with your doctor. Your brain can't focus too well if your body is suffering. And have fun!