Some idiotic ramblings in the UK press recently, about how going for a good walk does nothing for your fitness or health, and the only way to get ffit is by going to the gym 5 times a week, or until your heart and lungs burst and your eyes pop out of their sockets.
Well, I'm a (fully lapsed) gym instructor, hope-to-be-published writer AND a walking-for-healther, and the last two definitely go together. Writers Fforum magazine recently offered a good walk as an antidote to writer's block, and I'm fully in agreeance. All my best ideas, including winning poetry verses, come exclusively from my yomps over the Surrey/Sussex downs - text, dialogue and even whole new plot lines just pop into my head when I'm in this mood. (they tend to evaporate when I'm clinging to a tree root on a 1 in 2 incline on Box Hill, though. Ditto the gym - all that blaring non-music and sweaty vinyl is the antipethis (is that right?) of creative reasoning.
I reckon the Our World version of Goliath put that exercise fable out, in an effort to get all us creative types away from the freedom of Bookworld, and all those Lost Plots ...

Or into nice, expensive gyms?

I get my excercise walking to lectures with reasonable regular Goju Ryu and rock-climbing. Works for me. :)

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'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

You're spot-on Jazz Sue!

I get out for a 40-60 minute walk every morning before 6 and, apart from everything else you've noted, the added bonus is that by the time mid morning or lunchtime rolls around, you feel like you've already had a great day. Though, the Sussex Downs sound a lot more 'rambly' than the mean-streets of down-town Wagga Wagga.

What is this "before 6" of which you speak. Is it edible?

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'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

It'll break your heart Martin, but I have to inform you that 6 o'clock comes round twice a day; 1800 hours is, in fact, the second of them and - indeed - the less enjoyable of the two.

I disagree. The 1800 one comes right around the time I leave my desk to go home, but the other one coincides with my alarm going off and disturbing my sleep. The later 6 o'clock is, to me, the more enjoyable, at least during the week.

Hey, for me 0600 is the nice pleasant dream, just before some stupid alarm starts blaring in my ear.

I could do with getting up earlier and doing things. Some point.

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Turn the silliness to eleven!

[www.despair.com]

18:00 is a good time. This mythical 06:00 is only reachable from the night before.

__________________________________
'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

6am is best seen right before a long sleep-
sunrises are overrated...

Agreed zendao42. 6.00am's should always be looked forweard to, not back on, although with my sleep patterns ^am is just as meaningless as 6pm coz I fall asleep at all hours of the day. Sunrise is just a thing to give me sore eyes.

But going back to Jazz_Sue's item - try taking a small tape recorder with you. I have the same trouble - getting my best ideas when both hands are occupied - like driving downhill, in the shower, etc, so I borrowed my wife's machine and it was quite interesting to hear my descriptions of what seemed good ideas at the time. I've since lost the damned thing.

It is a good thing!

I ride my mountain bike and can handle anything afterwards. I love mountain biking ^_^

Yes, but you get arrested if you handle it in public places.

humph

bunyip Wrote:
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> > But going back to Jazz_Sue's item - try taking a
> small tape recorder with you. I have the same
> trouble - getting my best ideas when both hands
> are occupied - like driving downhill, in the
> shower, etc, so I borrowed my wife's machine and
> it was quite interesting to hear my descriptions
> of what seemed good ideas at the time. I've since
> lost the damned thing.

I keep meaning to get a digital voice recorder, because it's true - once I'm home, those fantastic ideas just go whoosh - back to wherever they came from. And it's funny that, no matter how many pens, pencils, notebooks etc I buy, no matter how well I pack my bag before I venture out, when I DO get a brill creative moment, the only thing I can find to write with is an old lip liner with the top missing, and a six month old bus ticket ... There are nefarious factions in the Bookworld, working against me here, methinks.

Try this: a voice recorder or notebook by your bed when you sleep. In the night, jot down or record those brilliant ideas that come to you between dreams. In the morning, you'll find a load of bizarre rubbish.

treleavenl Wrote:
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> Try this: a voice recorder or notebook by your bed
> when you sleep. In the night, jot down or record
> those brilliant ideas that come to you between
> dreams. In the morning, you'll find a load of
> bizarre rubbish.

Ha! Like Lewis Carroll did, you mean? Although that's bizarre brilliance. Maybe I'm thinking of Tony Blair's memoirs.

i think you meant "antithesis"...

Idea Collision Error!

Great, now I see Tony Blair trying to explain that we need to give Anti Social Beheading Orders to stop rabbits in hoodies from stealing tarts.

Of course, if you see what he's explaining, you have better eyesight than most.

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Turn the silliness to eleven!