MENUMENU
  • About
  • Buy
  • Press
  • Book Clubs
  • Writer Resources
  • Allie Larkin
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • g

Allison Larkin

Internationally Best-Selling Author

You are here: Home / writing / Biking and Writing

Biking and Writing

August 12, 2008 Filed Under: writing


Much of my work happens away from the computer, when it probably doesn’t look like I’m working at all. I do a ton of my writing in my head before it ever hits the page. I’m not perfecting dialogue or anything along those lines, just creating a loose sketch of what could happen and what makes sense for my characters. I do my best sketching and problem solving when I’m doing something physical.

When I was a theatre major, back in college, I had a horrible time memorizing lines (kind of a vital skill for a theatre major). One of my professors told me that walking while trying to process information engages the “cross-corporal” muscles and clicks things into gear. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I was desperate. I walked around campus with a script, reading to out loud to myself like an idiot. It worked like magic.

When I went back to school, I studied bio, wrote papers, and practiced for public speaking class while pacing around my kitchen table, talking to myself. I don’t know why it works for me, but it does. When I’m moving, my brain really does click into gear in a different way.

One of my major breakthroughs on a past project came when I was raking leaves. I worked out an issue in a short story, finally, after a week of being stuck, while hiking with Argo.

Today, I need to figure out how to get my wily little folk singer a new guitar, so I’m going for a bike ride. I find that trail biking is best for thinking and mountain biking is best for clearing my head completely. I’m going to hit the trail and see what I come up with. Although, this time, I’m going to pay more attention to the biking part than I did last time.

A few weeks ago when I hopped on my bike to work out a problem, I got so wrapped up in my thoughts that I ended up 25 miles away from home in late afternoon, before I even thought to check the time or look at a map. I had to haul ass to bike 25 miles back before dark, and I could barely move the next day.

I’m going to aim for 20-30 miles today, and keep my thoughts in check enough to be practical about my trip length. I’ll probably chat with myself a little bit while I bike, but at least I’ll be going too fast for anyone to notice.

Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

  • Home
  • Allie Larkin
  • Blog
  • Book Clubs
  • Contact
  • Writer Resources

allielarkinwrites

Okay, fine. Her jacket is reversible and we kinda Okay, fine. Her jacket is reversible and we kinda match. I admit it. Alright? We all knew this was coming. None of this should be a surprise to any of us. #dailyroxydog #huskychihuahua #dogjacket #peoplewhomatchtheirdogs
Just a dog in a puffy jacket that matches her lawn Just a dog in a puffy jacket that matches her lawn chair. And she likes it! #dailyroxydog #chihuahuamix #ilovemydog
We are in the habit of starting and ending our day We are in the habit of starting and ending our days side by side in our lawn chairs, while the light rises or dims. It’s still chilly at the outer edges of the day. Sometimes Roxy shivers. I bought her a sweater, but she won’t wear it. Sometimes I try to wrap her in my jacket, but she’s not having that either, so I throw her ball and try to get her run and then she comes back to her chair, warm for a little longer. #dailyroxydog #huskychihuahua #dogssittinginchairs
“I got a secret I should tell. I’m going up to “I got a secret I should tell. I’m going up to heaven in a split pea shell.” ~ @petermulvey43 Words Too Small to Say
Happy as a dog in a freshly dug nap hole. #dailyro Happy as a dog in a freshly dug nap hole. #dailyroxydog #huskymixesofinstagram
I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic ant I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic antique store sometime in November and didn’t buy it. But then, of course, I kept thinking about her. She’s the perfect size for my office, and I found those drawer pulls hilarious. When I finally went back in December, I told myself I was shopping for wall art, because I assumed she would be gone. But she was right where I’d seen her last: balanced on another dresser with boxes of old picture frames and tchotchkes piled on top (the true mark of a magic antique store). I didn’t even realize she had a towel rack — that she was a wash stand, not a dresser — until I asked about the price, said I’d take her, and my favorite magic antique store person asked if we needed to unscrew the towel rack to fit her in my car. I suspect this little sweetie is not from the days of necessary wash stands so much as from a country kitchen in the 80s. She was in rough shape, and not made from wood worth stripping and re-staining, but her price reflected that. I had to disassemble that door and put it back together, but I’d been in the market for some experience working with old furniture, and she made me feel brave about trying. I thought about painting her something more neutral, but I’m so glad I didn’t. She deserves to be pink. She’s not perfectly painted and needs a few touch ups. I learned some things about chalk paint and finishes. The drawers stick a bit. Eventually, I’d like to line them with fabric and when I do, I might plane the edges to smooth things out. But goodness, I love her in a way that I wouldn’t if I hadn’t spent time cleaning away her cobwebs and scrubbing the grime from her hilarious drawer pulls. She’s also become a little shrine for the book I’m working on, which makes me love her even more. I’ve always been a person who sees some soul in certain things, and I’m learning to cherish that idiosyncrasy, because there’s so much joy to be found in a brave little toaster or an underdog wash stand. We’re not here in the world for all that long. We may as well love some bright little things. #furnituremakeover
Load More... Follow on Instagram

© Allison Larkin | Site by Little Leaf Design