Writing Away

“Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.’” Lisa St. Aubin de Teran

I always wanted to be a travel writer but when I’m traveling I’m usually enjoying myself so much that writing about the trip is the last thing on my mind. On my last trip to Paris my mother-in-law gave me a travel journal and the first few days I was religious about writing down every detail…what we ate, where we went, what I was thinking about but then the journal trails off and later I have to piece together my trip with my photographs. I picked up Writing Away by author Lavinia Spalding in hopes in would give me some insight into the travel writing process.

With 13 chapters starting with “choosing a journal and beginning your journey” the book winds it way through the creative writing process with inspirational quotes, journal prompts, recommended reading and practical tips including packing an art journal. One fun prompt that stood out is listing the alphabet in your journal and filling it in with words you encounter during the trip. Spalding writes “this will force you to scavenge for details you might otherwise not include…” I’m definitely going to try this on my next trip back east. This is a quick inspirational read that will motivate you to think about your next vacation long after you unpack your suitcase.

Just a few recommended sites.

www.writingaway.net
www.journeywoman.com
www.1001journals.com
www.travelerstales.com
www.bootsnall.com

Today, using a photo from a past vacation as inspiration ; write a fiction or non-fiction journal entry trying to recall every detail about the place. Now get back to work!

Lovingly,
The Writing Nag

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2 Replies to “Writing Away”

  1. Hi hi there 🙂 Thanks so much for the links, they're really helpful. I completely agree with the 'enjoying yourself too much to take notes' thing. I'd find it too hard to scoop myself out of my internal monologue! (if that makes any rational sense). Love the blog, it's really helpful and informative. Keep it up xxx

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