Sometimes clients tell me that they want to write more of their own content but have trouble coming up with the ideas and the time.

One solution to this problem might be to “talk while you walk”.

I’ve been experimenting with this for about 18 months, using a smartphone app (iRecorder, at present) to record my thoughts on the go.

In my experience, it seems that a 30 to 60 minutes walk allows time for both mental chatter and conscious embarrassment to subside, and for useful material to start coming through.

Perhaps some creative advantage arises from these simultaneous right and left brain hemisphere activities?

If nothing else, I’m getting some gentle exercise and time away from a desk and a keyboard.

Initial preparation in the form of an outline, synopsis or mind map helps with the flow of material, particularly ghostwritten b2b blog posts. This conscious pre-planning, supported by the logical, goal-driven brain functions, helps me to better mimic the ‘voice’ and writing style of business clients I’ve not yet met in person.

A safe and familiar walking route is important because too much concentration on surroundings, traffic and other people tends to kill the quality of work produced. Early morning, before 7:30, is proving to be productive for me. (At some point I also want to experiment with night time walks and short story fiction…).

Does this walk/talk process always give useful results?

To be honest, I haven’t used it consistently for long enough to be sure. Also, my mind’s conscious, logical editor is a jealous muse and wary of rivals. Still, I see the creative potential that this activity might unleash and will persevere with it, using my own fiction and non-fiction output as the testbed.

- Mark McClure

Author: Mark McClure - A freelance b2b case study and white paper writer to the computer networking industry. Based in Tokyo, Japan. Mark McClure Google + Profile About Mark