My Productive Black Eye

Okay, so it's not a full on black eye, but I did give myself a nice little bruise on my upper right cheek just under my eye. I feel like such an ass. Picutre it...there I am, reaching down into the shelves of the refrigerator door to grab the ketchup (which I've only done several thousand times in my life) and I smash my eye into the rounded clear tray that holds the butter. I screamed something to the affect of "Owwww $%^#$%%$%" to which my husband and one of my daughters casually asked, "what happened?" to which I said "Owwww" followed by a whine, whine.  No one came running in to check on me hahaha. Geesh. Thanks guys. Don't worry ya'll. Mommy has another eye should this one shut to a closed position.

Anyway, after the stars I was seeing drifted away, I finished getting dinner on the table and then checked my eye and saw my upper right cheek swelling. It's not as bad today. Just a small bruise, but believe it or not, I found this experience to be productive. I hadn't been hit in the face since my days of studying Kyokushin (where I took several shots to the head, thighs, calves, arms, stomach, etc...).

 So you are probably thinking right about now that I'm a nut job, heh? Smashing your face and bruising your eye is productive? Yes it is. Especially when you are writing a scene in your novel where one of your characters gets punched in the face and you need to describe the pain so someone who has never been hit in the face can at least imagine what it feels like.

Now, I'm not saying everyone should go out and smash their face or ask someone to punch them so they can know what it feels like, but believe me, once you get hit like that (or anywhere for that matter), it becomes a good experience that will add to your  ability to describe a fight scene and pull your reader into the actual feel of receiving that strike.