Become a better writer ... while you clean?

Real life can peeve me.  Dishes need to be washed, carpets need vacuuming, the cat's fur-balls need cleaning up – there's always some chore that takes up time when I'd rather be reading, writing or dreaming.

Unfortunately, the fairies never show up to clean at my house.
But, podcasts make housework more interesting.
Image care of Design Crowd

One thing I've discovered on this writing journey is the wonderful array of resources available to help us become better writers, especially podcasts.

Podcasts magically turn those hours spent on mind-numbing tasks into mind-stimulating explorations. Unbelievably, I sometimes look forward to doing the dishes now, just so I can listen to another one. They're great for for long car trips too. Beats playing 'I spy' for hours on end.

iTunes U has been a great resource for writing and research.  I've downloaded lectures on witchcraft in the middle ages and all sorts of things to help me gather knowledge and inspiration for my stories.

One of my favourite writing podcasts is 'Roy's Writing Tools' by Roy Peter Clark.

This podcast is a set of short lectures about a wide variety of useful writing tips.  Each tool is explained with pinpoint clarity, giving examples that demonstrate the effect of the tool.

So, the next time you have to endure a mind-numbing task when you'd rather be writing, consider listening to an informative podcast as you work.