Bringing together movement and writing opens the doors to play. I want you to feel like you’re playing games and having fun. Using the body is energizing. Getting moving literally shakes things up. Getting off our backsides and away from the screen raises the heartbeat, creates good vibrations and deeper breathing. Better for our well-being and better for our words.

Many writers have used movement to drive their words. Charles Dickens was a walker, Haruki Murakami is a runner, Ali Smith uses the rhythm of a moving train, Martin Amis bashes at a tennis ball. I find dancing forges a direct connection with the emotional truths locked inside my body.

For our first exercise I want you to Dance around the room to your favourite energetic track or the one from the Live Like Your Head’s On Fire Video – there’s a link below.

No one is watching so just let your body go wild and respond to the music. This isn’t dancing to be cool but letting the body dance the way it wants to. Try letting different parts of your body have solos, as if your body were an orchestra and different parts of the body were different instruments, so your hand and fingers could be a flute or a piano, your elbows trumpets, your hips the guitar.

Write about the way your body feels after you’ve danced. What are the physical sensations? How do you feel emotionally? Write down any thoughts.

If you’re working on a story or a poem, try taking it for a run or a walk or both. Experiment with the effect of different forms of movement on your writing. Discover which rhythms work for you.

Live Like Your Head's On Fire - https://sparkampm.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/live-like-your-heads-on-fire-master-edit.mp3