4.11 Annabel Abbs: Walking into Creativity
Action point: www.accessiblecountryside.org.uk A fantastic resource for those with mobility considerations in the UK. Gives a comprehensive range of maps to accessible routes around the UK countryside. Definitely pop over there and have an explore and pass it on to anyone you think might find it useful.
On to the episode! Annabel Abbs is a writer of fiction and nonfiction and in this episode we discuss her book 52 Ways to Walk. We had this conversation a few weeks ago and with everything that’s going on in the world right now, it’s been so lovely editing it and just listening to a chat about walking!
In this episode we discuss:
Her journey in walking (pardon the pun!)
Her no-car promise to herself
How an accident that left her immobile caused her to recognise her privilege in being able to walk and inspired her to write about women walking
Why she prefers walking to running
The value of walking in creative thinking
The part that walking plays in Annabel’s creative process
Endocannabinoids and walking
Walking as rebellion
The concept of ‘walking deep’
The joy of graveyards!
Lessons from her journey and her hope for the future
Great episodes to accompany this one are:
Anna Neubert-Wood, WanderWomen Scotland 1.2a
Lucy Jones, Losing Eden 1.9a
Jini Reddy, ‘Wanderland’ 1.10a
Dr Sheree Mack, Representation in Nature as a Path to Oneness 1.12a
Lorraine Tindale, Nature-based EMDR 2.3a
You can find Annabel on her website www.annabelabbs.com or on Insta, Twitter and Facebook all @annabelabbs I’ve added 52 Ways to Walk as well as Windswept, one of the books we discuss in the episode to my bookshop on bookshop.org so please feel free to have a look over there. I’ll get a little kick back if you order through my shop, which helps me to keep the podcast going. Thank you! You can also pop to your local library if you’re a library user and ask them to order it in.
As always I’m www.promptedbynature.co.uk or on the socials @prompted.by.nature
Remember to listen in to the writing prompt that follows this episode.
Happy listening!
Helen x
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In this prompt I invite you to go on a walk in your local area and do what I’m calling a ‘prompt per minute’ activity. In the conversation, Annabel talked about ‘walking deep’ and this prompt encourages you to have a go at this whilst using it as a source of creative inspiration.
Instructions:
Go on a *slow* walk in your local area, for around 20 minutes if you can - remember to take a notebook and pen! You can also do this in your garden if you have one and would prefer to stay closer to home
Find yourself a sit spot in which you feel comfortable
Set an alarm on your phone or watch to go off every minute for ten minutes
Every time it goes off, write one sentence about your surroundings. Could be a metaphor, an observation, a sight, smell…whatever comes out when the alarm goes off but it can only be one sentence
Then sit and just be there until the next alarm goes off
Once you have done this, continue on your slow walk paying careful attention to your surroundings
When you get home, set your timer for around 15 minutes - more if you have time! - and write a piece that incorporates the sentences you’ve come up with
Variations:
Do the same timings but write as you walk. Depends on how comfortable you feel in the space.
Just do the prompt per minute activity for 5 minutes, or extend it to however much time you have
When writing at home afterward, don’t incorporate the sentences, just use them as inspiration
Make it a longer session and extend the timings to writing a sentence every two, five, ten, 30 minutes or more!
Remember to reach out if you try this one.
Happy writing!
Helen x
