You know it's bad when the Surgeon General issues a warning that lack of exercise is hazardous to your health. And that was back in '96. Since then, the stats haven't improved much, either: 25% of the American population is still sedentary and 60% do not exercise regularly (Reference: http://www.cdc.gov). For fitness minded folks, we could do worse than to follow the "hour-a-day" prescription outlined by the Surgeon General's Healthy People Report. It's just a guideline, of course and, as you already know, any amount of activity packed into
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Would you expect to wake up one morning and successfully run a marathon without any preparation? Would you think it reasonable to sit before a piano and--with little or no practice--play a concerto? Probably not. Why, then, do so many people seem surprised to discover that the will to write isn't always enough to overcome the blank screen or page? Doesn't it make sense that, like athletes and musicians, writers might benefit from training, too? And that includes warming upâ€"with exercises.Writing exercises are similar to other warm-ups. They get the required "muscles" moving. They introduce you into the rhythm of
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