I’m home again after a five-day, 1,000-mile road trip almost the length of California.
The reason for the trip was to address the California Writers Club in Sacramento on the topic of freelance article-writing. While so far from home, however, we decided to see some of the state that one of us had never seen and the other one hasn’t visited in many years. We experienced the excitement of the cities as well as the wonders of California’s more natural and casual areas along the rugged coastlines of Monterey and the amazing Big Sur redwoods, for example.
Our encounters with nature were many—on purpose—and fascinating. And we learned quite a lot about areas of our state that we formerly took for granted.
You can’t leave your home office or your daily writing routine for any length of time without gaining something of value. If you return with exactly the same mindset, focus and material, you didn’t vacation to the best of your ability.
I’m still sorting out the benefits of my get-away. But I can tell you that ten writers could take the same trip and all come home with something different. What are some of the possibilities?
• Just think of the potential for new writing topics. If you train yourself to see articles and stories practically everywhere you look, you will return from even a trip to the grocery store with a handful or a bagful of ideas.
• A visit to a tourist site should generate many ideas for articles or stories. The facts they document for your information at these places can be priceless fodder for writers.
• People-watching is practically expected when you’re traveling. Use this opportunity to develop interesting characters as well as new perspectives.
• Most tourist sites have historical aspects. Pick up on some of the history and use it in your novel or create an article based on an obscure character of the past.
• Have you noticed that you behave differently when you are on vacation? You sometimes even dress differently. You certainly keep a totally different schedule when you’re on the road or visiting in an unfamiliar area. How does this impact your life—even if on a temporary basis?
• Vacations are also a time of reflection. What did you learn about yourself while traveling or while relaxing? What new perspective did you gain through introspection?
• When you step outside of your comfort zone, you are around people you don’t know. Often, you interact with and observe others in a whole new way. Write about what you learned about others—and what you have learned about yourself.
Don’t vacation or even take a business trip without opening yourself up to what’s around you, who’s around you, how others are behaving, how things affect you differently than when you are at home, etc. Pay close attention to where you are led and the situations you find yourself in. Look at these experiences as potential articles, books, stories or poems.
I remember a period when I wrote poems about the things that I noticed while out and about—the things that touched me, inspired me or angered me, for example. I once wrote a poem about the plight of a majestic elk in Yellow Stone Park who I witnessed being taunted and challenged by idiotic tourists. Another time, I captured the beauty of a jet shimmering against the blue, blue sky of the desert in a poem. I wrote a situational memoir about my four-day visit to Dubai. Many years ago, I wrote the story of one of our family horse pack trips. And many of my other observances and experiences while traveling have been recorded over the years.
I would love to hear about some of the stories or other writings that have emerged from your travels.