Back to my favorite topic!
Walking helps writers get unstuck. Whether facing writer’s block, or just needing to develop some new ideas, taking a walk can help.
“Nothing like a nighttime stroll to give you ideas,” said J.K. Rowling. Pyschology Today draws a parallel between the REM dream state and the meditative-like state attained by exercise. Rhythmic exercises like walking are in many ways like dreaming.
“Neuroscientists have identified that the non-thinking default state of consciousness is key to creative thinking,” according to athlete/author Christopher Bergland. “Exercise allows your conscious mind to access fresh ideas that are buried in the subconscious.”
Hemingway was fond of using walking as a way to work out issues in his writing. “I would walk along the quais when I had finished work or when I was trying to think something out,” he wrote in A Moveable Feast. “It was easier to think if I was walking and doing something or seeing people doing something that they understood.”
Henry Miller agreed, noting, “Most writing is done away from the typewriter, away from the desk. I’d say it occurs in the quiet, silent moments, while you’re walking or shaving or playing a game or whatever.”
“Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move,” wrote Henry David Thoreau, “my thoughts begin to flow.”
Photo by Trace Hudson via Pexels.