travel writing – Nooks & Cranberries

How does vacation–or any type of travel for that matter–impact your writing life? Chances are, if you’re like me, that it can be a challenge to maintain any sort of routine. And to be honest sometimes it’s good to take a break from that routine–if you’re confident you’ll be able to to pick it back up upon returning home. Another challenge is how to balance your typical writing with the journaling or note-taking you may want to do to record memories and moments from the trip. With that in mind, let’s spend some time this week working on travel-writing skills. That way, when you travel next time you’ll have an easier time observing details, taking notice of seemingly small yet important moments, and ultimately letting the words flow on the page. And with that, here’s the exercise:

Every day this week, observe something in your neighborhood or life as though you were traveling and seeing or experiencing it from the eyes of a visitor. What are the sights and sounds of the place (maybe it’s your backyard or your neighborhood park) or the event (it could be a trip to the market or a playdate with your friends) that capture its essence? What do you need to put into words in order to bring you back to this time and place when you reread your writing in the future? Consider each of the five senses. Notice the who, what, where, when, and why. Observe the thoughts running through your head–those that are related, and the seemingly random ones that that are popping up. Jot notes as they come to you, and then when you return to your computer, write a few paragraphs about your experience.

Developing a writing ritual or routine is a feat to be celebrated. So what happens when one travels, and as a result uproots all of that progress for a moment in time? For me, traveling is a time of suspension, a hiatus of sorts when all of the routines of life get put on pause and one simply focuses on enjoying the experience. Finding time for things like writing becomes a treat rather than a necessity, and as a result those times of engaging in that activity are often more profitable and enjoyable than they otherwise might be.

While traveling to New Zealand earlier this month, I found little time to write. On a whirlwind trip for a travel story I’m working on, there was little opportunity to open my laptop for any purpose aside from planning the next day’s schedule. However, I did manage to slip away to a lovely little bar attached to a fancy seafood restaurant in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbor area for some wine tasting and writing. It was totally by accident; I had caught a cab to the area to meet up with the group I was traveling with, but finding that the event had been canceled due to weather, I found myself with a free hour and a half until dinner. I climbed the stairs up to the Harbourside Seafood Bar and Grill and settled in for some reflection.

I always carry a notebook and pen with me, which is a practice I’d encourage every writer to do without fail. Because of that, I was able to find what felt like stolen moments in which to write. I opened the notebook with no expectations other than to allow words to flow freely onto the paper. I chatted with the bartender about New Zealand wines and ordered a Sauvignon Blanc to try. He brought out my glass plus a sample of another of his favorites, and noting my interest in the wines he printed out for me a guide he uses for training the staff on the country’s grape-growing areas. I made notes of the Sauvignon Blancs I had tasted thus far in the trip, marking them on the map the bartender had given me, and I wrote in my notebook.

Nothing I wrote that day–neither the wine notes nor the words that flowed on the pages of my notebook–will make it into published works. Rather, I took the opportunity to synthesize thoughts that have been swirling around in my head and I processed them through the act of writing. The result was the beginning of a weeks’ long journey into discovering my ideals of the writing life and how I might begin to execute them upon returning home.

Those unanticipated moments can be as productive as the ones that are scheduled, if the writer allows him- or herself to take notice. The time I spent that afternoon are still guiding my thoughts as I work through how I want to orchestrate my schedule and time this spring.

How do you utilize those unanticipated moments when they occur? What comes out of them as a result?