I’ve written here before about Hemingway’s theory in regards to the vehicle for the writing affecting the result. Specifically, how he’d used a typewriter for dialogue (fast, staccato) and hand write his setting description (slow, considered).
These days, I walk a lot. I walk thirty minutes one way to the cafe where I write. I walk to the gym. Sometimes, when I can, I walk to the bar to meet friends. It’s a rare gift of a situation, in Los Angeles, that I plan to utilize as long as my schedule permits. And the walking is at a good clip, purposeful and all that - but really it allows me time to think. It gives me long interrupted blocks to follow trains of thought, whether writing-related or meditative or reflecting on my relationships.
Now, for my birthday I’m about to buy a bike — my first time owning a bike in a while. I can’t help but wonder if, like the pen vs. the typewriter - my feet vs. the wheels — will my thought processes be the same? Will I be thinking at all on the bike or will I be all reflexes and route-planning? We’ll have to see. But if it does prevent me from considered thought, I might have to allot some walk-time on top of everything else, no matter. It’s starting to feel like a necessity!