Running the gauntlet

I came across an excellent article on writersdigest.com by guest columnist Kevin Kaiser on 4 Lessons Running Can Teach You About Writing.

1. Muscles forget what they’re for if you don’t use them enough.

2. You’ve got to start the work of training.

3. Realize, it’s going to hurt for awhile.

4. You’ll get better, maybe. That depends on you.

Now this really struck a chord with me and all four points are spot on. But I've got another take on running and its link to writing. I like running in the sense that I know I should do some sort of exercise and it's quite a low-admin one to do: slap on some running shoes and hit the streets. But here's the key to a good run: you need to choose a running partner who is not as fit as you are.

In the beginning this was tricky as there was no one in the entire world who was less fit than I was. But this changed over time - I won't tell you just how long that took - and then I discovered what running really could do for me.

As a writer, my head is full of words and ideas and plots and characters - they swirl around and meet up and clash or hit it off or bounce off each other. There are too many of them to get down on paper and I like them to play with each other and get to know each other before committing to them. But at some point, I need to talk them out, and that's where running comes in.

If your running partner is unfit, he - or in my case, she - can't run and talk. All she can do is listen. And that's when I start talking... I've got a captive audience and for those three or four miles (I said I like running; I don't love it) I discuss back story and characterization and emotional drawpoints and synonyms for focus (discovered I used the word focus 37 times in one book - the subject of a future post...) and I'm not expecting any answers.

In a sense, I need to vent. I need to get it all out, and they say that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness so this is the next best thing. Also, it makes the three or four miles (okay, I'll be frank, it's closer to three) go a lot faster.

I get back home, hot and sweaty and exhausted and exhilarated - and ready to write.

Unfortunately, the problem with a regular running partner is that they eventually do get fit. And then they want to talk. So I'm constantly looking for new victims. I've built a reputation around town as being the go-to gal if you want to get fit; most of my previous running partners have continued to run even after I've ditched them for fresh blood. Two, I'm proud to say, have gone on to run marathons.

My sister-in-law is my current consort. But her time is nearly up. She's getting fit and, worse, she's halfway through writing a thesis for her doctorate and is eager to talk about it.

Anybody keen to take up jogging in the New Year?

Question: How do you get your ideas out of your head and onto paper (or screen)?