Being an obsessive plotter, I had an ending in mind for my book, but I just wrote the climatic chapter, and it affected me in ways that I didn’t expect. I care about my characters, maybe too much (good writing often means throwing a lot of bad stuff at your characters… really piling it on). After writing the climax and realizing I had plotted a downer ending, I was in turmoil. I didn’t want to end the story the way I had planned.
So, did I break out my notecards and start studying my outline? No, I went for a walk.
What I’ve discovered is that walking can be more than just healthy practice. It can be an important creative activity for writers, artists, and other creative people.
Let’s talk about some ways that walking can help you creatively, as a writer, or as anyone with a creative problem.
The Walkstorm
One of the great benefits of walking is that it literally gets the creative juices flowing. Your blood starts pumping. You’re moving. The scene changes and you’re getting new input. Not only does it get you physically away from whatever you’re working on, but you’re physically gearing up your body.
Walking does the trick when I need to get random ideas to flood into my mind. Instead of a brainstorming session, I turn it into a walkstorming session!
Start your walk by defining what you want to brainstorm and then just let the ideas flow to you. Sometimes it’s enough to just let your mind wander and enjoy the process, but if you don’t want to lose any ideas then take a smart phone or recorder with you and capture the ideas as they come.
Even if you don’t capture the ideas in the moment, once you get back to your desk, you should have tons of ideas floating around in your mind.
Take Your Creative Problems for a Walk
When I wrote that climatic chapter of my book I had a dilemma. I didn’t want to break my plot, but the chapter affected me so much that I wanted to change the end of my story.
So, I went for a walk.
What walking did for me is give me some space to consider the change I was going to make. It also effectively helped me to burn up some anxious energy around the decision.
When I got back from the walk I had decided. I was going to change the end of the story, and I had a pretty good idea on how I was going to do it. The solution was simple. I’d just add a couple of chapters and do a truncated version of what I planned to do in the next book of the series. I just moved up the events to the end of the book I was working on.
The trick to using this method effectively is to get on the road and have a question in your mind as you start walking. The goal is to have an answer by the time you’re done. Typically, I will solve the issue early in the walk and the rest of the time is spent figuring out the details. Sometimes it takes the whole trip to conclude. I don’t think I’ve ever taken a walk and not achieved some new direction or clarity with a creative problem.
It’s effective.
And my book turned out great! It was the right decision to add the extra chapters and give the characters a positive resolution. The walk works.
Breaking Loops
Do you have writer’s block? Stuck in a thinking loop? Can’t find your way out? Sometimes getting away from your workspace is exactly what you need. That’s why some writers do work in a coffee shop, or why painters will set up an easel in a park. Taking a walk gives you some distance from your workspace and that might be all you need to get going again.
You don’t have to even think about the problem for a walk to help. Maybe what you need is a brain nap. Just go outside, hit the pavement (or the dirt, or the grass) and start moving. Enjoy the weather. Wave at a few people. Pet a dog. Figure out what cartoon characters the clouds look like. Get your heart pumping a bit. Soak in how wonderful it is to be alive.
When you get back to work, you’ll have a new lease on life and hopefully you’ve broken that loop so you can look at your work with new eyes.
Work While You Walk
You don’t have to only dictate notes while you walk. You can dictate your book while you walk.
If you’re not used to dictating your prose it’s going to take some getting used to and you might want to start doing it while sitting first, but there are a lot of authors who will write their books on the move. All the benefits of creative walking can be used with full force to write your book.
One great benefit of doing your first draft while walking is that you’re already removed from being able to check your phone, or do editing, or being distracted by research. Walking and drafting almost forces you to focus solely on writing.
You may find that walking and drafting is so effective for you that you walk more often and for longer periods.
Looking Out for Number One
I haven’t even talked about the health benefits of walking regularly, but it’s important for a creative person. Whether you’re a writer or artist, or you’re doing some other creative endeavor, most creative people spend a lot of time sitting or standing in one place. And that’s not good for you.
While I was on my walk today, I was listening to a podcast about writing and I heard someone say that they couldn’t justify walking because it took time away from walking. My answer to that is two-fold. First, I’ve proven that you can work while you walk. And secondly, if you’re not taking care of your health you’re not going to be able to get any work done.
Last year I ended up in the ER because I wasn’t taking care of my health. And that led to me having to take time off from EVERYTHING while I recovered. Choose work over health too often and you’ll pay for it.
You must take care of yourself, or no work will get done.
How to Build Your Creative Walking Practice
- Walk regularly.
- Get some good shoes that are made for walking. It helps.
- Take it easy. Even 15 to 30 minutes can make a big difference.
- Don’t listen to music or podcasts while trying to be creative. Let your mind breathe.
- Dictate into a cheap recorder or your smart phone to keep track of ideas or to draft prose. (If you’re tempted to check your phone, a $20 recorder will solve that problem.)
- Review what you captured when you return.
- Pick a time every day to trigger a walk or do it when you have a creative problem to solve.
You’re Not Walking Away from Work
You’re not quitting or running away from work when you go for a walk. You’re reframing, solving problems, and breaking patterns. Walking can be integral part of the creative process.
You’re also doing something healthy for your creative mind and body. That’s never wasted time.
The next time you’re staring at a blank page and demanding that the creative gods answer you, slip into some walking shoes and take the problem on the road. See where it leads you.