How Travel and Adventure Makes Us Better Writers
Writers’ block is a significant hindrance to any form of writing but mostly affects creative writers. When trying to meet writing deadlines, writers overwork their creative brain, which leads to poor results. By hitting the road for that new adventure or road trip, a writer’s mind clears, and they can coin a winner. Since writing comes with its flexibility, why not hit the road and seek inspiration for an incoming project?
Below are reasons you should pack your flip flops and a few favourite outfits and don’t look back for at least a week:
New people bring character ideas
Writers create content from things they have experienced. Each time you travel and meet new people, they are virtually auditioning for a part in your story. Each stranger you come across at a restaurant, on the plane or train has different character sets, personalities and backgrounds, which will improve the depth of your work.
New places bring new settings
When writing about a city, there is so much to borrow from memories of a previous road trip. When taking that road trip, ensure to pay attention to detail, noticing restaurants and streets, which will one day make a great piece of the backdrop for your story or book.
It is good to relax in between a writing project
Fatigue is not a new term, even to seasoned writers. Taking an adventurous trip gives the mind time to relax and focus on more exciting things as unique sceneries than just the glaring laptop screen. You should take some time off and catch a breath, with the results visible once you resume writing and ideas flow through.
Travelling gives you the time to read
To make a good writer, you need to read a lot of relevant content. Reading is the best inspiration for writing by learning from other writers. Travelling provides a lot of time to have a good read, from sitting in airport lounges, laying on a sandy beach, on a train or even in an aeroplane. Never forget to stash some of your favourite books in your travelling bag!
Get inspired by nature
When you travel, you have the perfect chance to bond with nature. Whichever genre you deal in, nature will always have a dose of inspiration for you. Whether you are driving through a forest, a mountain escarpment with beautiful escarpments or flying over a beautiful city at night, nature will touch your creative side in ways that modern technology cannot. The fresh air you get when you walk into a campsite gives you a new breath of writing ideas.
Travelling gets you out of the comfort zone
Every writer has their favourite writing spot, maybe that old couch at the corner, or the rocking chair on the porch. Having one writing spot puts you in a comfort zone, reducing your exposure to new ideas and cultures. Travelling thrusts you away from your regular life, into unfamiliar experiences and helps you think outside the box. You would be surprised at how inspiring it can be, coining the final paragraphs of your memoir in a forest clearing outside your camping tent.
With a common writing rule being, ‘write what you know’, it is only right to widen our knowledge of different cultures and ways of lives. By travelling, we can meet new people, experience new sights, increase our creativity and makes us the ideal writer with a sea of ideas to pick from.