Stuck on Ideas?

Maybe you've encountered more incidences than you care to count in which you are just stuck on story ideas or you just can't figure out how to move on with the plot of your story or get your character(s) out of a certain situation.

That's happened to me plenty of times. Ask any writer, and each one will have a different and preferred method of coming up with ideas. So what do I do on days when the words just don't flow out as I want them to and my creativity is at a standstill?

Every now and then, on a pleasant day, most especially, I enjoy taking a walk and just reflecting on ideas. There are plenty of great walking trails not too far from where I live. Many of these trails have very little traffic and run through sections of wooded area. Every now and then, I’ll cross paths with a jogger or maybe someone on a bike. It’s quite peaceful. Perfect for just thinking of ideas of how I want my story's plot to unfold and imagining various scenarios. How can I develop this character more? This character is becoming different than what I've attended. Is that good or bad? How do I want my story to end?

Yeah, I ponder quite a bit during my walks.

Most of these individual walking trails interconnect at some point or other. My favorite walking trail is probably one of the longer ones. It makes a loop into an eventually complete circle (Or maybe its more like an oval). I’m not too great with estimating distance but walking at a steady pace and stopping about three times to take a quick five to seven minute break, it takes me about an hour and a half to complete the trail.

Walking in a quiet atmosphere is a great way for me to think about story ideas. I tend to be a very distracted person. I can block out most distractions but only to a certain degree. Walking in a quiet atmosphere allows me the opportunity to just reflect and explore my creative side.

The only down side to this is that finding a place to jot down ideas isn’t always convenient on a walking trail cutting through the woods. Unless I find a large rock to sit on or wait until I am in an area with park benches, most of the time I can’t just pull out my notebook and write. Aware of this dilemma, I do my best to envision myself in the section of my story that I am thinking about and treat it sort of like a movie. I think of various hypothetical scenarios. It could happen like this… No. What if this happened instead… It is so fun speculating ideas!

After I complete my leisurely walk around the trail, perhaps I will head over to one of my favorite coffee houses, order something, pull out my note book and write down any ideas I’ve thought of during my long reflecting walk. Coffee houses are my other favorite spot of coming up with ideas. Sure, the inside of a coffee house isn’t exactly quiet, but to me, the chatter amongst the people, the music playing, and the smell of fresh brewing coffee is a good kind of distraction and fuels my creativity!

It’s actually been a while since I’ve taken a nice and productive walk. Right now, where I'm at in Pennsylvania, it is now the middle of winter and while I was able to sneak in a walk last week, it has just been too cold.

If you are stuck on ideas or just need a quiet atmosphere to reflect on and build up on the ideas you do have, I highly recommend going for a walk. You never know what ideas might emerge!