It has been a tale as old as time for me, or at least since I started writing. If I get stuck on: a scene, chapter, plot point, character beat, structural issue, whatever, I go for a long walk… and by the time i’ve finished my walk, I’ve solved the problem. A couple of laps around the block, or maybe a longer walk atop the nearby hill, suddenly everything becomes clearer.

That problem I couldn’t fix while staring at my laptop, or lying on my bed and looking up at the ceiling, is suddenly revolved. Even a brisk walk home from the coffee shop normally helps if I reach a point during my writing session where I’m stuck. By the time i’ve headed out the door and walked the twenty minutes back to my house everything is on it’s way to being fixed. I can jump straight back into the manuscript and carry on. It’s like some God damn creative miracle cure.

And it’s not just for fixing problems. I’ve come up with whole short stories. Short screenplays (my most successful one to date ‘The Moment’ was conceived and written in my head during a single walk) Books! Blood Soaked Wrestling was dreamt up during a single stroll. By the time I’d walked about three laps around the block (about an hour) i’d come up with the concept, the first three matches, and the framework. It ended up being the quickest book i’ve ever written thanks to that casual walk.

Walking gets my brain flowing. Something happens when I leave the house with the single idea of fixing whatever problem is bugging me. I know if I go for a walk I can work things out. I’m generally good at working things out with a notepad in front of me (or a kindle scribe nowadays) but if I hit a creative wall, only a walk will do.

Apparently there is science behind it. Something about increased blood flow to the brain. Chemicals hit the part that helps with creative thinking and problem solving. So really it’s not so much a cheat code as something we’re meant to do, but often don’t. I’ve always been extremely grateful that I discovered early on how much a good walk works creatively for me. It has probably added years to my life… and not just because walking is good for you.

I like the contradiction of it as well.

Writing can be such an isolated indoor activity. I can sit at my desk for hours with limited fresh air and stiffening legs. My back tightening up. My brain working on instinct and coffee. Mind buzzing all over the place, only to eventually hit a brick wall.

There’s something poetic about the answer then being to go outside and get some fresh air. Stretch my legs and back. Let my brain relax while the great outdoors naturally helps with the solution, rather than trying to force it. Again, it feels like we’re meant to do our thinking outside rather than stuck between four walls.

The only downside i’ve come across is sometimes this can all work a little to well. My brain puts everything together to quickly. The words start flowing in my mind and sound great, but by the time I get back home to jot them down they lack the rhythm or poetry they had upon conception.

Sometimes i’m alert enough to jot the sentences down on my phone, but usually in shorthand which I can’t remember exactly later. I need to invest in a good dictaphone one day… but I know i’ll never use it.

I find it comforting to know so many problems can be solved with a good walk. The fact that I enjoy walking too is a bonus. It’s like how i’m one of those rare people who enjoys the taste of water. It enables me to break up my writing sessions with a walk even when things are going well as I know I can safely think about the work while I take a wander.

So, next time you’re really struggling with a chapter, my advice would be to take a walk. See if it gets the creative juices flowing, or fires up the problem solving part of your brain. Not only is it good for you physically, but it's good for your manuscript too.

I’ve written about the advantages of taking a walk to aid with the creative process in the past, but it’s been on my mind again this last week after some time away. I’ve been way up north in Yorkshire getting plenty of country air and walking along beautiful cliff tops while staring out at the North Sea.

Ironically, it’s meant very little actual writing has been done this last week, but I’ll allow myself that. I needed a break. Starting again is difficult and stressful. There’s so much doubt and anxiety. So many worse case scenarios spinning around in my head. I’ve tried to switch most of the focus onto the writing itself and that’s going well, but as a self-publishing author the actual writing is unfortunately only part of the process.

The truth (as it is for many other writers) is that I have no idea how the next few months and years are going to go. Whether I can start making a living from my writing again. I don’t think I’ll lack the motivation and discipline as I’ve always had a good handle on that, but whether I can create some luck, intrigue, and support is an entirely different matter. These things play on my mind a lot, but not when I’m getting to enjoy some beautiful countryside. That’s when I can relax, so I did.

As the days were quieter and slower (away from constant wifi) I got to read a couple more books too (Although I have been reading at a good rate for a year or so now) I read Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin and really enjoyed all three stories within the collection. I feel hard pressed to say what my favourite was, but I think it was probably the third one, The Mystery Knight. I liked how Duncan was a bit more arrogant in this tale, and how it cost him. He deviated from his normal self when he shouldn’t have. I like stories and tales like that.

But as I said, I enjoyed all three stories and they made me want to read more of George R.R. Martins work as I found his prose very easy going despite the family history and weapon detail. I think I was expecting something more difficult and dense to read, but actually he has a very nice style about him. Still, it’s hard to consider reading the mammoth Song of Ice and Fire when it’s incomplete, but I’m not going to write anymore about that, it’s been covered enough, and I want to say how much I enjoyed his writing not add to the chaos of moans. Maybe I’ll read Fire and Blood.

I also read Jim Thompson’s The Getaway. Really enjoyed this one too. Doc is a great character and there were some very tense sequences. I have watched both film version’s before but so long ago that I really didn’t remember to much (and don’t know how closely they stuck to the book anyway) I might have to give them a watch again. But, I highly recommend the book. It’s got a good pace to it, an interesting structure, and a fantastic ending.

Started reading James Sallis's Sarah Jane next. I’m about a third of the way through so I’ll write a little more about that next week.

Still playing Balatro on the Switch as I continue to work through the challenges, and haven’t watched any films as I was away, and had the World Cup on in the background. I do like I’m due some kind of movie marathon soon though.

I’ll be back to writing Alice on the Air this week. I feel like I need to catch up on it having not added to it over the last week, so that’s my priority. I’m also starting the next lot of Subgenre work this week (post every Thursday) and editing the subgenre articles which will come afterwards. Other than that it’s back to the gym to get my sugar levels down after I over indulged while I was away. It’s a pain in the ass living with diabetes. Few out there really capture just how difficult of a problem it is with energy levels, sleep, and constantly having to be watchful of way to many things. I hate it, but I try my best to live with it seeing as I have no choice.

I’ve also got a photography gig coming up in a couple of weeks that I do each year for an organisation so I need to get everything ready for that as well as editing the photos I took on holiday. All in all, it will probably be a simple week as I get back in to the routine of things.

Stephen