Writing and Travelling

Hiking in Peru

This is not a travel blog! It’s about an experiment I did last year. Could I write a novel whilst travelling? One where the novel’s world was separate to the world I was travelling through.

I flew to Buenos Aires and accompanied my laptop through Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and Belize until I finally arrived in Mexico seven months later. I had great experiences and met lovely locals and travellers, (which I can’t tell you about without turning this into a travel blog).

Sometimes the experiment worked, other times not. Partly it could have been its interaction with my personality. But I think there could be truths for other writer- travellers. Again, this is not about travel writing, that’s a different beast.

For context here’s a bit about me: my perfect fantasy day is to start early, do four to five hours of dedicated writing, be whisked away to another planet for the rest of the afternoon and be back in time for dinner, after which I can write for another couple of hours. Focus, fulfilment, contrast and a dash of chaos; what more could you want in a day?

Yet, nothing killed my imagination and inspiration more than searching accommodation, looking up bus, train or flight options, let alone deciding where to go next. Travel planning heavily invests in the world you’re travelling in, not in the imaginary world of your story. And my head can’t be in two worlds at once, (yet).

Thus, Learning Number One: minimise the frequency of travel ruminations – they kill creativity. Quarantine your writing sessions from that planning stuff.

After a great writing session, exploring somewhere new was delightful, much better than going on my routine walk or hanging out at the usual coffee shop at home. It felt like a real reward for the thousand or so words written.  It also tended to fire me up next day for more writing. This was especially the case when I could engage in interesting conversation and learn how somebody living on the other side of the planet thought about the world.  

Learning Number Two. Writing and travelling can inspire each other, if you get the balance right.

Learning Number Three. You still need a writing space and desk. This meant paying more money for your own room and making sure that it has a desk or table, preferably with a nice outlook. I’m diligent about my posture and health and decided I would never sit on a bed hunched over a laptop. The other thing I decided was to take a separate keyboard. It was a pain squeezing it into my luggage but worth it. It meant I could always have my screen at eye level. I became an expert at finding items in a room to raise my laptop to the right height above my keyboard. These included pots and pans, cushions, clothes, ironing boards, folded towels or blankets, stools, draws from the bedside table and what proved to be the best of all – the crisper drawer from the fridge.

Learning Number Four. You have to make choices. You can’t go everywhere and see everything and expect to write a novel. Don’t get sucked into the routines of other travellers, especially the ones going for broke on their few weeks annual leave. I’m not saying don’t have fun – just pick your fun! The money you save from not going everywhere you can put into a nicer writing space.

If I travelled too much, I lost touch with my story and wasted energy getting that momentum wheel turning again. When I’m writing a story, I feel an invisible thread attaching me to it, even when I take breaks. When those breaks get too long, the cord is cut and it takes time to repair.

Alternatively, acknowledge that it’s time for a break from your story and go hard on travel for a few days or weeks. I went on long, remote mountain-hikes where it wasn’t possible to charge a mobile, never mind a laptop. Which leads into -

Learning Number Five. This is about the psychological. Are you a writer doing some travelling or a traveller doing some writing? If you’re not clear, you may be in for an internal battle.

Gradually I learnt to travel less and stay more time in places; weeks where other travellers would spend days. I saw myself as writer simply moving his desk. ‘This week my desk is in Quito. Next week it will be in Medellin.’  I would argue it’s the best way of travelling, if you have time.

I got most of a first draft written. Not bad!  And I learnt that writing fiction and travelling can work well together if you get the balance right; your balance. Your priorities.

Now, I’m going to break my word and turn this into a travel blog: South and Central America is amazing, spectacular and the people are so friendly. I don’t why it seems last on the list of most Australians – go there! And don’t forget to take your laptop and a separate keyboard!