As much as I love being calm and settled, I think I do some of my best writing while travelling. My two most recently published stories were both written while I was travelling, so there’s something to be said for writing and travel.
I think that the act of physically moving (or being moved) helps me boost my creativity somehow. I’m not sure how scientific that thought process is, but I like travelling, so hopefully getting to travel more will continue to have this effect on my writing.
Of course, I don’t necessarily have to be moving while travelling to help my writing; even waiting for connections gives my mind a burst that I don’t get when I’m sitting at my desk. Does this mean that I should constantly travel so I can find it easier to write? Not exactly, but I’ve benefitted from it, and I’m hoping to do some more travelling this side of the year, so it will be a good time to put my hypothesis to the test.
I tend not to do extra writing when travelling, though I sometimes will. I prefer to stick to my daily minimum, and will still listen to audiobooks, but I won’t read as much. When I do write while travelling, it’s in these bursts I mentioned before, and the sessions don’t take as long, maybe around 35-40 minutes. I have to remind myself that I’m travelling and should probably relax a bit, and when I’m in another city, I’ll take full advantage of the surroundings and explore. But all of this helps spur my creativity, and the break is genuinely appreciated (most of the people who are close to me tell me that I should chill out more; they’re right, and I’ll age myself if I keep it up too long).
I VERY recently graduated from university (more on this another time) and had to travel to Cornwall for my graduation. While there, I did some writing – not as much as normal, but the combination of a break and getting to write while travelling really helped me! It’s given me what might be one of my best ideas so far, though whether it results in something good is another question, but it shows that writing while travelling can be really helpful, even when you’re not writing.
Do you like to write while travelling, or find that travelling and writing can help boost your creativity? Maybe you don’t write at all when travelling, which I sometimes do, and again, it’s a welcome break, and it helps me come up with new ideas and ways to approach my WIPs. I’d love to hear your thoughts on writing while travelling.
Until next time,
Conrad 🙂
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