Managing Hunger Pangs: Everett's Guide to Fasting

How do I manage hunger and stay focused on my writing projects while fasting?

A 24-hour fast isn't very challenging. The characters share their stories with me, and I'm in the flow, with time jets, blurring day and night.

Initially, fasting was more challenging for me. I won't deny it. Even now, three-day fasts are tough. After the first day, hunger pangs and cravings drown out the characters' voices. The hunger strikes more swiftly than ideas to move the plot forward.

My trick is music while writing, anything except rap and yodeling. Love rap but the rapper interferes with my character's voices, next thing I know I'm just remixing the rapper's song not my story. Yodeling is worst than hunger pains.

When the music isn't as effective I chop my writing sessions into 40 minute writing blocks bookended by 30 minute exercise, cardio or weights. Only thirty minutes. Any more and I'll lose the flow.

The flow is everything. The flow is the primary reason I fast sometimes. Fasting isn't a weight control action it's a creative opening action. Sometimes the getting food, cooking food, eating food weighs me down and I don't want to write which leaves me word constipated. Fully of story ideas but no energy to get them down on the page.

I need to just live my life and my life is writing stories. So I fast to jump start writing when the dystopia in the real world seems to drown out the one in my head. I fast. I write.