River Walking = Ideas

I live in the kind of town other writers might want to escape from.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a ‘nice enough’ town. It has decent facilities and a pretty impressive town hall/arts community.

But it’s a long drive from anywhere else, and it’s just so same. It’s not particularly big, so you have to go to the same three or four restaurants/pubs over and over again.

And eat the same food.

See the same people.

Do the same things.

As great as the gallery and local cafes are, you fairly quickly make your way through all the town must-sees. And then you’re done. There’s nothing new to explore beyond that. No variety to keep you inspired.

No, this is the kind of place where you absolutely must inspire yourself.

I spend a lot of time ‘researching’ beach towns and cities - ie staring longingly at street view, crying into my Shiraz, wishing I could go and visit them. I’ve been sure (on many occasions) that if I just went and stayed in that quaint Air bnb or that funky hotel that I would finally write a Bestseller.

But constant travel isn’t really realistic if you want to do things like pay your bills…or eat. So I’ve learnt to try to see the value in what I do have access to - a very fine walking track along a reasonably picturesque river.

“What? That’s it?” I hear you ask.

Sshh, I’m explaining…

I’ve come to realise how valuable it is to have the perfect place to walk.

To think - AKA to entertain myself. With my own brain.

It’s amazing how utterly weird your thoughts can be if you take yourself on a creative (thinking) walk. I’m not going to tell you exactly how weird it gets - we don’t know each other well enough yet - but there’s nothing more useful for solving life/plot problems than just striding out into the world to ponder.

Now, city and coast dwellers probably think they have great walking locations to do the thinking thing. Bushwalkers/hikers will also most likely put their hand up as having the best spot for a contemplative walk.

Well no. You’re wrong. #SorryNotSorry.

City walking is NOT conducive to quiet contemplation. There’s car horns, sirens, roads to cross, people….people everywhere. How can anyone think in the middle of that racket? Oh, you can block it out? Well good for you, master of sound waves. I don’t have your skills.

Beach walking - it seems like it would work. Except that it DOESN’T. Too sandy. Walking in soft sand is hard, and very distracting. If I wanted a workout for my quads, I’d go to the gym or something. Creative walking isn’t about exercise - it’s about ideas.

“Just walk closer to the water, stupid” you say, rudely.

Um, no. I don’t want to end up ankle deep and have to spend the rest of the walk in squelching Sketchers, thanks. That’s not how they’re meant to be worn. It’s uncomfortable.

Bushwalking? Um no.

Snakes. Spiders. Other biting things.

If I need to take a First Aid kit, it’s not going to happen.

My river walking track is where it’s at. It’s quiet and separate from motorised vehicles. It’s still in a town, so no scary creatures. Except Magpies. There’s always Magpies. Sorry. Just wear a helmet with eyes on the back and you’ll be fine.

I think we can safely say that I have confidently argued my point.

That my town is the best town, as it has a RIVER with a great walking track.

Who needs variety when you have that?