Swimming in Ideas

One of the best ways to guarantee I’ll get a great writing idea is to distance myself from paper and pen.

A lot of my ideas for essays and articles come to me while I’m swimming in the Northeast Community Center pool, where I do laps.

I no sooner don my swimsuit, cap and goggles and dip into the pool than I’m bombarded with the last lines of essays and opening lines for poems.

It’s as if the minute my mind is distracted from writing, writing ideas come pouring in. Maybe it’s because my mind, temporarily emptied, now has more room. Maybe it’s that repetitious activities open up parts of my mind that are otherwise closed. (I also get ideas while knitting, walking and driving. Watch out – I’m the one swerving down the interstate while jotting down an idea at the same time.)

Whatever the reason, it’s immersion in water that, for me, has the most consistently creative results. Taking a shower, for instance, works wonders. While standing in the warm water, covered in soapsuds, I often find ideas streaming down on my head.

Maybe it’s because, in some ways, writing is like being surrounded by water. To some degree, writing means being intentionally submerged. When I sit down to write, I’m immersing myself into thoughts and feelings, staying with them as long as I can, before slowly surfacing with the results.