Writing while on the road, by Barbori Garnet
Includes prompts!
Whether you have travel plans over the summer or have other times throughout the year that take you on the road for three weeks or three months, sustaining and nurturing a writing routine is important to growing and improving as a writer. Below are some suggestions to consider including as you write while on the road:
Maintain a Regular Writing Time – Make sure to write every day, even when traveling. Whether you write in the morning, evening, or alternate between the two depending on your schedule, set aside regular, dedicated time to write. This will help you continue to strengthen your writing practice.
Record Things You Observe – As you visit and stay in new and different places, there will be many things to see and experience. Write your observations down so that you can learn from and refer back to them in the future, perhaps incorporating some elements into your writing.
Stay Connected with Writers – From connecting online to attending events in person in the area you are visiting, there are numerous ways to meet other writers while traveling. Creating and building community with writers while you are on the road can provide mutual encouragement and support along the writing journey.
Read on a Regular Basis – Continue to read regularly. With seeing new places and trying new activities, your schedule can quickly and easily get busy. Make it a priority to carve out time to read, highlighting books by authors who are from the areas you visit. Setting aside ten or fifteen minutes each day to read good literature can help keep you inspired to write.
There are many ways to keep up with writing while on the road. Not only can traveling provide you with new experiences and sights to enhance your writing, but it can also be a way to grow your practice by writing consistently even in new surroundings.
Writing Prompts:
Going on a road trip gives us time to learn new things about the places we visit and ourselves. What would you like to take the time to learn about yourself while on the road?
Traveling provides the opportunity to see new vistas. Is there something in your life that would be helpful to view from a new perspective?
Find a postcard with an image you like and use it as a prompt – perhaps as the setting – to write a story.
Write a poem based on the numbers and letters on a license plate
Barbori Garnet is the author of The Gift of Journaling: Writing as a Path to Discovery (Garnet Creek Productions, 2024) and Home at the Office: Working Remotely as a Way of Life (Atmosphere Press, September 2021). She is a writer, artist, musician, and gardener based in Alberta. Her other interests include reading, tennis, and enjoying cups of tea with family and friends. Barbori has a BFA in Painting & Drawing from Academy of Art University and an MA Communications in Public Relations from Southern New Hampshire University.