Want to improve your writing? Take a hike.

No one ever asks me about my writing process. Hmm, I wonder why… Maybe because my writing sucks?

Yikes. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t wonder. It’ll just make me depressed.

But I digress.

While no one ever asks me, I see a lot of articles and posts about the subject. How to create your writing process. Why you should establish a writing process. What a writing process should look like. And more.

It’s kind of annoying.

The fact is, everyone is different. What works for one person’s creativity can thwart someone else. If you’re an adult and haven’t figured out what works for you to get the words down, I can’t help you.

Of course, you didn’t ask for my help, did you?

Whatever. I’m just rambling here. Free flowing.

Did I have a point?

Yes! I did. Here it is:

If you ever feel stuck in your writing, consider taking a hike.

Sonoma County in Springtime

You’ve probably heard that one before, but I can assure you this is true.

Physical activity, particularly taking a walk, hike, or running, really puts my mind at ease. I seem to shift into another mind-gear and things become clearer. Plot holes? Filled. Clunky sentences or transitions? Solved. Not sure how my characters should react to an event? They tell me. (In my head, of course.)

As I huff and puff up a trail, the solutions that alluded me while I sat in my chair, come from the recesses of my mind–as if the answers were there all along. I just needed to get out of the way.

Want to improve your writing? I suggest integrating a walking session into your schedule. The same as you plan for your writing sprints, add in a walk around the block. Remember to take a notebook and pencil, or your phone with your favorite note-taking app open and ready to go.

Until next time, enjoy an amble and write your best idea,

Nila

Somewhere in New Zealand… I think.