Lyla Campbell


Writing is not a sprint, it's a sojourn through your story. It's a long expedition, so if you're stuck, or things get slow just remember to keep moving. Sometimes that's easier said than done. However, I ran across a brilliant idea one morning when I was doing my morning news crawl on the interwebs. There on MSN was an intriguing link on their scrolling "main news" thingy...a compilation of 25 off-the-beaten-path college courses, one of which was called The Art of Walking

It hit me like a ton of bricks. Here was another excellent tool I could adapt and use to pry myself out of a prose sticky spot. I've heard about methods to talk it out, narrating the story to yourself to navigate your story out of the doldrums. I'm also familiar with the method of just keep writing, write anything, even if it's crap, just to keep your momentum (you can always go back and change it later). But sometimes, you need might need something a little more moving to get your momentum back. Sometimes, you might literally need to put one foot in front of the other to get to you to your destination.

The whole idea of walking to work through a writing wall evoked images of my favorite movie (and book), Pride and Prejudice. This walking method must have worked for the author as well. From what I have read about Jane Austin, she was very fond of walking as well. For myself in this modern day and age, getting out of the house and walking the trail along the bayou will get me away from the TV and any housework hanging over my head that I often use as an excuse to not write.

I'm very excited to try out this walking to write method this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out.
2 Responses
  1. Jeff King Says:

    let us know how it turnes out.

    great idea, and if i need it, i'll keep it in mind.


  2. LJP Says:

    Walking definitely helps. I have tried it and it gets rid of any blocks and makes the creativity flow again :-)


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