Wow! Women on Writing

Walking Rx for Writers
By Christina Katz

I don't have too many prescriptions that can ease me out of expletives and into effortlessness as quickly and thoroughly as walking can. This is why I agree with Julia Cameron in her book, The Sound of Paper , when she says that walking is "deceptively simple, yet very powerful."

Authors Who Amble
When she penned her timeless classic on creativity The Artist Way in 1992, Cameron had not yet established walking as one of her recommended tools, but today she ranks it right up there with writing “morning pages” and taking “artist dates.” "It nudges us out of our habitual thinking. It builds a bridge to higher consciousness. It allows us to focus on solutions rather than problems," she says.

Meandering, ambling, or "moodling" as Brenda Ueland calls it in If You Want to Write , bends the routine, expands our plan, busts us out of a rut. "My explanation of it," says Ueland, "is that when I walk in a carefree way, without straining to get to my destination, then I am living in the present. And it is only then that the creative power flourishes."

Many strolling devotees concur: Walking is the best-kept secret around, a secret mainly because of its straightforward simplicity, which may explain why many sports enthusiasts seem disinterested. Walking lacks the trendy gear, special diets and foods to purchase, above all, a plan. And this is what makes and keeps walking appealing for moms, senior citizens and creative types of all stripes.

Seasoned Walkers
Michelle Ballou of Bellingham, Washington has been a passionate walker since the age of three when she recalls losing all sense of time as she wandered one day from this new thing to that. A feeling of happiness permeates this memory for Ballou, although she was technically "lost" and delivered home by police cruiser to a panic-stricken mother. Thus began a life-long love affair with walking for this 49-year-old writer.

Among the benefits Ballou lists from her daily routine are calmness, focus, an increased sense of wonderment, the stimulation of her senses, the emergence of her animal self, a sense of connection with others and the earth, a slimmer waistline, and the downloading of images into her mental file. "I have never gone out for a walk and not felt better for it," says Ballou. "Not ever."

For an increased bang from your walk, Cameron recommends an hour-long walk weekly, but chances are good, once you get moving, you won't be checking your watch. According to Ballou, "Once my foot hits the path, it isn't long until I am patting myself on the back and grooving on how good I feel. Fifteen minutes often turn into thirty." There is no limit to the ways writers can profit from even a twenty-minute stroll around their neighborhood.

Walking Together
Many walkers travel alone as well as with others. After five years together, my husband Jason and I have come to rely on this ritual when we feel out of synch, are particularly busy and stressed, or can't seem to find a solution to one of life's many challenges. Walking and talking and sharing and opening up to the greater possibilities that naturally emerge as we move our bodies through time and space, has never let us down and I doubt it ever will.

But walking with a partner doesn't have to be chatty. According to Ballou, "Sometimes when I walk with a friend, I ask if we can walk in silence and notice nature. At the end of our walk, we talk about what we felt or saw. Sometimes, we stop and point and observe together quietly." She points out the value of choosing silence or sharing depending on the needs of both walkers--a good reminder.

Walking has multiple tangible and intangible benefits. It opens us up to possibilities, cheers us, refreshes us and, when we return home, infuses our work with pleasant surprises.

So what are we waiting for? Let's go walking.

Christina Katz is the author of Writer Mama, How To Raise A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (February, 2007, Writer's Digest Books). She has been doing just that for the past five years and has published over 200 articles in magazines, newspapers, and online publications. She teaches eight nonfiction-writing classes a year and is publisher and editor of the online monthly zine, Writers On The Rise, voted by Writer's Digest as one of the “101 Top Web Sites” for writers. Christina is a graduate of Dartmouth College and has an MFA in Fiction from Columbia College, Chicago. Visit www.writersontherise.com or www.christinakatz.com or www.thewritermama.com for the latest about Christina.