Walking for ideas.
21 June 2009
At the Manchester Book Festival, a creative writing student asked me for a tip on how to get ideas. He looked a bit surprised when I said, 'Walk'. Today, walking through the valley near my home and looking out over pasture and fields of spring barley, the magic happened again - always a surprise and a blessing. I don't know whether it's the regularity of your footfall or the way your mind clears when you get out into the open but somehow walking opens a space and, often, abhorring a vacuum, the imagination fills it. I'd be interested to know if other people find this too? Or under what circumstances you find your ideas arrive?
6 comments
Written by Ann Whittenbury on 23 June 2009 at 21:06:42
I will add to your blog, my ideas usually happen in my sleep, or should I say the space between awake and sleep, and I find myself sneaking out of bed to the bathroom with my note book and pen, or when I am washing up or ironing, I think it is the mind numbing tasks that need livening up. But I hopefully will find out if walking helps as I am embarking on a series of walking challenges for charity in the next 18 months, so I will keep you posted.
Written by Alison Jacques on 25 June 2009 at 14:11:46
Some years ago when I was fit, I walked for ideas. Alas, the walking dried up and I put on weight....but the ideas dried up too. I have started walking again, not just to lose weight but because I know it will start to shake my ideas loose in my head, and then my objective is to write them down as soon as I get home. Why not take a pen and paper with me? Well, writing when walking is not easy, stopping to write breaks the flow, and training my brain to remember is also a good exercise to do. There is something about the rhythm of walking, foot fall after footf fall, which takes my thinking brain into a different realm, and as a result, the freedom of my 'sleeping' brain, lets the ideas out! If you try too hard to find something, it can elude you, but if you just avert your eyes for a while, you'll find it.
Written by Judith Allnatt on 26 June 2009 at 14:54:05
Really interesting that you find that state between sleeping and waking productive too. There's a book by Dorothea Brande called 'Becoming a Writer' - one of the very early textbooks on the subject , that suggests doing 'morning pages'. Basically, you write as soon as you wake, before breakfast, reading the paper etc. impinges on your mind. I do it from time to time and find that unexpected material and long dormant memories seem to surface. Well worth a try. I'm sure you're right about the repetitive tasks. Maybe anything that lets you fall into a bit of a trance-like state is good. At last - a good reason to tackle the ironing! Let me know whether your walks produce some good ideas. Best of luck for the fundraising.
Written by Judith Allnatt on 26 June 2009 at 14:58:01
Really interesting that you find that state between sleeping and waking productive too. There's a book by Dorothea Brande called 'Becoming a Writer' - one of the very early textbooks on the subject , that suggests doing 'morning pages'. Basically, you write as soon as you wake, before breakfast, reading the paper etc. impinges on your mind. I do it from time to time and find that unexpected material and long dormant memories seem to surface. Well worth a try. I'm sure you're right about the repetitive tasks. Maybe anything that lets you fall into a bit of a trance-like state is good. At last - a good reason to tackle the ironing! Let me know whether your walks produce some good ideas. Best of luck for the fundraising.
Written by Lilian Butterwick on 26 June 2009 at 19:06:35
I find ironing sometimes helps, or when I've woken up but don't have to get up straight away. Basically when the mind's just chugging in neutral, when you're not actively trying to think.
Getting away somewhere different always helps, though sometimes I need time for the new ideas to 'stew'. I'm going to Cornwall in a few weeks so hopefully should be some fresh inspiration there
Written by Sarah B. on 29 June 2009 at 15:54:45
Running does it for me!