Mixed Media--Freshening up the process

I've been reasonably well behaved of late when it comes to sitting down at the computer first thing each morning and banging out my first two hours of writing. I'm in a final push to complete my book manuscript, so my daily writing practice is a little longer than usual--aiming for 3 hours each day.

After my first two hours, though, I lose steam. I am trying, nonetheless, to do something meaningful with the third hour I have blocked for myself.

Rather than muscling through by tapping into my reserve stores of will power, being playful seems to be a better option.

One type of play that yoga teachers everywhere know about is to use props to make the difficult more accessible--using a block to artificially extend the length of an arm so that the yogi can "touch" the floor.

I think that bring props in can also freshen things up, bringing in an element if play, as with this "egg" my mom showed me how to use to stretch my bad Achilles.

Incorporating different "props" or what I'm calling mixed media into writing might help with that practice, too. I'm talking about getting away from the predictable keyboard typing, opening up with pen and paper, index cards, whatever makes that final stretch sustainable, even, date I say, a little fun.