Before the advent of the Internet, a writer had a full, healthy life. He had to go to the library to research his topic, taking his constitutional walk on the way there, getting up and down to pick up the appropriate material for his research and chatting with the librarian, he had to organize meetings to interview the relevant people for his book, etc.

Gradually the majority of these time-consuming activities became available straight from the computer. Research material is easily available through Google and other search engines, interviews can be done through Skype or other similar programs, and writing can be done on the very same computer. Basically, we can do it all never moving an inch from our chair.

 These are the plus sides, a considerable gain of time and ease of access to source materials.

 There is a downside, however. All these undeniable progress results in an ever-increasing amount of time spent sitting down, interacting mainly with screens and keyboards and less and less with live people and family. This computer time does not end once the book is written, far from it!

 Back in the pre-Internet days, writers were published by publishing houses who were taking on the lion part of marketing. The writers still had to go to interviews, book signings and invest time and energy in promoting their work, but these marketing activities implied movement and social interaction.

 Nowadays, writers, whether published or self-published, are expected to invest considerable time in marketing their books on the Net, adding numerous sitting hours and further reducing live social time.

 At first glance, sitting seems a perfectly safe position to be in. Correct, but as in everything, the secret is balance. Excessive sitting can actually kill the sitter, or at least seriously damage his health.

 Here is a non-exhaustive list of the damages caused by excessive sitting in front of a computer:

Assorted back pains

            Lower back pain

            Neck pain

            Shoulder pain

Blood circulation related problems

            Varicose veins

            Cardiovascular problems up and including heart attacks

Eating related problems

            Weight gains and related problems

            Diabetes

Eye problems

            Strained eyes

            Computer Vision Syndrome

Mental problems

            Depression

            Anxiety

            Insomnia

            Information overload

            Computer addiction

Social problems

            Isolation

            Loneliness

So, as 21st-century writers, we need to be aware of the dangers lurking behind the screen and under our chair. Given proper preventive measures, all of these problems are largely preventable. As the main heroes of all our books, since, without writers, they would not be, we need to develop strategies to keep the hero alive and healthy for more adventures.

In the coming weeks, we will address each of these dangers and prepare ourselves to victoriously face them. Nothing will stop us from providing our readers with the books they crave for.

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