Tips for on the Road Writing
Over the spring and summer, my husband and I will be traveling a lot for his work. In the past, to make my travel writing time successful, I’ve tried a few things to stay productive on the road when it would be easy to lapse into vacation mode while I wait for him to finish up work for the day so we can go adventuring around the city.
On the plane:
While it might be tempting to curl up for a neck breaking nap or watch some of the freebie movies they have on the plane, I find I can get some excellent, uninterrupted outlining time in the air. It’s amazing what you can get done without the internet/phone to distract you!
1. Outline for each day. It’s helpful to know your overall outline at this point that way you know what needs to happen in the 3-5 days of business travel, but if you don’t, get to that macro outlining. If you do know your overall points, start those micro (scene by scene) outlines. I like to have about 3 to 4 micro outlines ready to go for a super productive writing session. Click here for a post on how to create a micro outline.
2. Then, think details. Depending on how long your flight takes, you might finish your week’s worth of micro outlining. If that’s the case, now is a great time to think on the details you want to add: the five senses, dialogue and emotions you want conveyed in each scene.
In/around the hotel:
Here’s where those micro outlines you made on the plane are gold. Not only do they save you time every day, but they will help you reach your writing goals, making each day a success.
1. Be sure to rotate. While it’s possible to sit in a hotel room for 8 hours of writing time, I find that I am much more productive when I move around. Example: start at the breakfast table downstairs, move to your room and then down to the lobby for a cup of tea and keep writing.
2. Take break times. You can’t write all day, well at least I can’t, so I like to bring historical fiction novels that will inspire me along with my writing magazines, which are great to read while you take a lounging break by the pool or up in your room.
Bonus tip: If you need to print something, usually hotels will give you the first 10-20 pages for free in their business center, depending on their policy, so it’s a great time to splurge on printing pages if you decided to edit pen to paper at any point during your stay.
I know these are rather simple tips, but after spending a lot of time traveling and trying to figure out what’s the best way for me to have a successful writing trip, I find that these tips work for me and I hope they will work for you too!
Happy Writing!
Photo Cred: Unsplash.com
