Often when I am out running I come up with amazing material for blogs, articles and even books.  As I run the words flow freely and stories seem to effortlessly emerge with a beginning, middle and end.  You may be thinking I run for miles and miles.  However, my morning run is usually about thirty to forty minutes.  I get back to the house and I try to capture the same flow at my computer.  What seemed brilliant out in the woods does not often translate onto the page.

I am curious about this.  I honestly believe I am a good writer while running.  In my mind I have no problem developing new material or wrestling with spelling and word placement.  Instead the story or subject simply unfolds.  Then reality kicks in once I am back home.  Suddenly I am stopped at the first big word that appears misspelled on the screen, marked by the red under line.  Instead of allowing the error to wait for later correction.  I stop and wrestle with the keyboard trying to sound out the word or use spell check.  The story fades background and stalls.

Of course it is not always spelling that stops the flow.  Sometimes the story in my mind is not nearly as interesting once written on the page.  May be I have missed some of the rich content that seemed so entertaining while running or may be the idea was not as grand as in seemed out there in the woods.

I do want to write the book that has so gracefully been written over the years out on trails.  The pieces have been captured in kilobytes of data storage on the various hard drives I have used trying to save and store what flowed in my mind but stalled once I sat down to share with the world.

Blogging seems a smaller bite to take along the path to a larger dream.  Still even the blog seems more powerful while running.  On the trail I bypass the mental chatter that censors and stalls me once back at my desk.  Out there I am confident about my own creative potential.

I know I have heard this all before and I am not alone.  The great singer in the shower.  The screen play that came through while driving .  The Oscar performance that took place in front of the mirror.   Yes we all have our talents that can too often remain enjoyed and safely performed while alone.

I am indeed a great author while running.  It’s time to bring the words back out of the forest and onto the page.

May be the greatness won’t be quite the same but at least I can say I am more than just a great writer while running!