What we do when we’re not writing.
As authors we’re pretty much forced into a high-tech existence, what with computers and email and Zoom presentations and so on. When you need an escape, what low-tech games or activities do you and your family enjoy?
- Terry Ambrose:
For me, escape means getting out for a walk. If I can get away to someplace that’s surrounded by nature’s beauty, that’s the best. I also like working with wood and tackling projects to build things. I did it when I was young but haven’t done it in a long time. Now, I’m finding my inner woodworker again.
- Nancy J. Cohen:
Aside from reading, I like to watch movies on TV. A happy ending is a must. I also like to cook and go out to eat. I’m a foodie, so any related activity is fun for me. We take walks in parks, around the neighborhood or through the mall for exercise. And there’s always retail therapy, aka shopping.
- Debra H. Goldstein:
Truthfully, downtime usually involves something high tech – computer games, movies, or reading, but on a Kindle, except when we gather around the kitchen counter or dining room table to eat and talk to each other.
- Cheryl Hollon:
After a morning focused on getting words on the page, participating in my Social Media sites, and keeping up with the administrative business of writing, I don’t want to see another screen. For social fun, I enjoy playing Mahjong, Mexican Train and practicing Tai Chi. I also draw, paint, and have started a paper-based craft called quilling.
- Diane A.S. Stuckart:
I like to read books (actual ones, not on Kindle) and wander around outside with the pups and pretend to garden. Game-wise, my husband and I will play checkers or dice, while Scrabble is a big thing for my family on my mother’s side (as we rarely get together in person anymore, we mostly substitute Words with Friends).
- Maggie Toussaint:
The longer I live on this planet, the more activities I enjoy! I love creating container gardens of flowers, photography, arts and crafts, sewing, making soap and hand sanitizer, gift wrapping, yoga, singing, or anything that’s a “project.” You will notice that nowhere on this list are dusting or weeding.
- Lois Winston
I occasionally play Monopoly with my grandkids, but they’re more into LEGO these days. Trivial Pursuit was always my board game of choice. Unfortunately, no one ever wants to play with me anymore because my brain is so crammed with trivia that I always win.
After a long day, we all have our unique ways of unwinding. Share your favorite downtime activity in the comments below. Your experience might inspire someone else to try a new method of relaxation!
I love to go to the beach and there are a few beach parks not far from us and I take a print book with me and a camp chair and enjoy an hour or so at my peaceful spot. My husband and I like to watch old horror movies on Saturday nights on tv and I’ve discovered some British programs that I watch an episode of each day if I can.
That sounds like fun!
I’m with Ms. Stuckart! I LOVE a print book. I have a Kindle, mostly used to explore new authors, but I need a book I can hug with joy, or cuddle with sorrow, for that matter. I love the feel of one in my hands, the smell of the paper (either old or new), I caress their covers as I used to caress the cheeks of my babies. And…since reading as I soak my old bones in hot water is such a pleasure, I do NOT want to take my Kindle to the bath tub! That way lies madness…and more expense than the budget can bear, should I drift off and drop it!
I am retired, so it is all downtime (supposedly). If not traveling, which we haven’t done in a while, I love reading, working jigsaw puzzles, watching old movies on TCM and a couple of other stations, watching Texas Longhorn college football and other colege games, and doing genealogy among other things. But we used to go to the Keys for eleven consecutive years and rent the same house. There was nothing better than sitting in a chaise on the balcony, looking at the ocean, having a cocktail, and reading a book.