Sunday, January 9, 2011

The Benefit of a Small Walk

We're well into January by now, and I have not started writing the new draft yet. Life got in the way, as is usually the case when my schedule is buggered. I'm not complaining. Not everything that gets in the way of writing is bad.

It remains that in the last ten days, I've made almost no progress on my brand new outline. I was stuck with 75% of the novel, which is to say I had every major plot points outlined, but was quite fuzzy on how I brought them together into a single, solid climax. They converged, yes, but it was loose and unsatisfying.

No longer! Half-hour of walking, and all my problems were solved. I feel silly for not doing it earlier, as I've solved countless plotholes in the twenty minutes I need to reach my University from home.

So remember the next time you're stuck: take a walk. Let your mind wander alongside your feet, and see where it leads you.

4 comments:

  1. Yes, walking is a great way to get inspiration! It's gives your mind time to wander. I came up with some of my best ideas doing exercises and working in my school's greenhouse.

    ReplyDelete
  2. And if the walking doesn't solve your problem for you, sometimes standing in the shower AFTER your walk does it... ;) at least that's how it's worked for me, recently.

    Here's to fixing potholes. I mean plotholes.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My problem with showers is that I can't bring a pen and paper along to jot down my ideas, and I have a very forgetful mind. But yeah, it works too!

    Melody: any kind of exercise can help, yes. I'm just a big fan of walking (looking forward for the summer, too!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. So true! Uninterrupted pondering time is great for just that kind of problem! :)

    ReplyDelete