“We travel,
initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves…” Pico Iyer.
initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves…” Pico Iyer.
I left
Alaska last November for a winter’s worth of travel. After 10 years of public
school teaching and almost as many living in rural, small town Alaska, I needed
a break. Leaving one’s home digs for new
environs, no matter how near or far, or for how long, can provide much a needed
perspective on life. And if you’re a writer, inspiration. I was looking for
both.
Alaska last November for a winter’s worth of travel. After 10 years of public
school teaching and almost as many living in rural, small town Alaska, I needed
a break. Leaving one’s home digs for new
environs, no matter how near or far, or for how long, can provide much a needed
perspective on life. And if you’re a writer, inspiration. I was looking for
both.
As I
packed my bags and prepared to leave home, I resolved to approach my travel
journal in a more creative and writerly way than I’ve done in the past. I
wanted to get beyond the travelogue and logistics. I wanted to practice
description and find personal connections. What do I find beautiful, ugly, commonplace,
amazing, unique? What are the cultural, political, and social trends in the
place I’m visiting? How do people interact with their environment, each other,
me?
packed my bags and prepared to leave home, I resolved to approach my travel
journal in a more creative and writerly way than I’ve done in the past. I
wanted to get beyond the travelogue and logistics. I wanted to practice
description and find personal connections. What do I find beautiful, ugly, commonplace,
amazing, unique? What are the cultural, political, and social trends in the
place I’m visiting? How do people interact with their environment, each other,
me?
One
evening last month at a guesthouse in the lush, northern mountains of Thailand,
I watched a woman with a postcard-sized watercolor pad paint a lobster claw
flower. Its pointed, bright red petals formed the focal point of her
composition, framed by leaves and the gazebo where she sat. This struck me as the
essence of what I wanted for my travel journal: a captured image, a small
story, some compelling subject framed within a context, like a postcard in
words.
evening last month at a guesthouse in the lush, northern mountains of Thailand,
I watched a woman with a postcard-sized watercolor pad paint a lobster claw
flower. Its pointed, bright red petals formed the focal point of her
composition, framed by leaves and the gazebo where she sat. This struck me as the
essence of what I wanted for my travel journal: a captured image, a small
story, some compelling subject framed within a context, like a postcard in
words.
This
year my travel has taken me to Seattle for a medical trip, New Jersey to visit
family for holidays, and Thailand for a vacation, among other destinations. I
can tell you that ideas for essays, or characters and settings for fiction,
have arisen from every place I’ve visited, no matter how mundane or exotic. So
whether you’re headed off for a ski weekend in the mountains (or in this crappy
snow year should I say puddle splashing & ice skating down paved roads?) or
to Thailand for a beachside bungalow, here’s a few of my travel journal ideas
that you might find useful.
year my travel has taken me to Seattle for a medical trip, New Jersey to visit
family for holidays, and Thailand for a vacation, among other destinations. I
can tell you that ideas for essays, or characters and settings for fiction,
have arisen from every place I’ve visited, no matter how mundane or exotic. So
whether you’re headed off for a ski weekend in the mountains (or in this crappy
snow year should I say puddle splashing & ice skating down paved roads?) or
to Thailand for a beachside bungalow, here’s a few of my travel journal ideas
that you might find useful.
* Write
by hand, on paper, the old school way. Lots of travelers now bring their
laptops and tablets with them, even on months long global treks. (Now you can
be distracted by wireless internet everywhere.) But I like the contemplative,
pen on paper experience for a travel journal. You’ll also want a small notebook handy for
when pulling out the full size journal is impractical.
by hand, on paper, the old school way. Lots of travelers now bring their
laptops and tablets with them, even on months long global treks. (Now you can
be distracted by wireless internet everywhere.) But I like the contemplative,
pen on paper experience for a travel journal. You’ll also want a small notebook handy for
when pulling out the full size journal is impractical.
* Keep
personal belly-aching to a minimum. Get your emotional crisis out on paper
briefly, so you can get over it and move on to what’s interesting. Things gone
wrong? Awesome, there’s no better opportunity for writing. By the same token, there’s
nothing worse than opening up a trip journal later on only to slog through
pages of whining about your spouses fussy eating, when it’s like, wait a minute…aren’t
I in… Mongolia?! The land of thundering spike-maned horses and mutton
dumplings? Two sentences. You get to complain about your travel partner or
whine about your diarrhea for two sentences, then you have to move on.
personal belly-aching to a minimum. Get your emotional crisis out on paper
briefly, so you can get over it and move on to what’s interesting. Things gone
wrong? Awesome, there’s no better opportunity for writing. By the same token, there’s
nothing worse than opening up a trip journal later on only to slog through
pages of whining about your spouses fussy eating, when it’s like, wait a minute…aren’t
I in… Mongolia?! The land of thundering spike-maned horses and mutton
dumplings? Two sentences. You get to complain about your travel partner or
whine about your diarrhea for two sentences, then you have to move on.
* Make
lists… of boat names, destinations at the bus stop, colors, hairstyles, animals
and birds, foreign words, foods, modes of transport, market items, night
sounds, metaphors, verbs…
lists… of boat names, destinations at the bus stop, colors, hairstyles, animals
and birds, foreign words, foods, modes of transport, market items, night
sounds, metaphors, verbs…
* Sketch a drawing, even if you can’t draw. One
of my favorite entries for the month I was in Thailand is a 70-word description
of two spider webs I found on a mountain trail. Later that night, I did a quick
sketch of the web with spider stick legs poking out of a penciled whorl. The
drawing provided a frame for the prose that unlocked my mind and allowed for a
different kind of creative association.
of my favorite entries for the month I was in Thailand is a 70-word description
of two spider webs I found on a mountain trail. Later that night, I did a quick
sketch of the web with spider stick legs poking out of a penciled whorl. The
drawing provided a frame for the prose that unlocked my mind and allowed for a
different kind of creative association.
* Record
snippets of dialog, common expressions you hear, greetings. Every region or
place has its own language, English or not. Maybe those expressions or bits of
conversation will spark something or filter into a piece of writing later on.
snippets of dialog, common expressions you hear, greetings. Every region or
place has its own language, English or not. Maybe those expressions or bits of
conversation will spark something or filter into a piece of writing later on.
* Write
in phrases, couplets, short sentences, long unpunctuated verse. Poetry perhaps?
in phrases, couplets, short sentences, long unpunctuated verse. Poetry perhaps?
Ready to
take the leap from journal entry to essay? One of my favorite sources for
travel inspired writing is Vela Magazine. They define travel writing very
broadly, so the work on their site encompasses a wide range of nonfiction from
memoir to literary journalism. Check it out: http://velamag.com. (They’re also hosting a
nonfiction writing contest right now for women.)
take the leap from journal entry to essay? One of my favorite sources for
travel inspired writing is Vela Magazine. They define travel writing very
broadly, so the work on their site encompasses a wide range of nonfiction from
memoir to literary journalism. Check it out: http://velamag.com. (They’re also hosting a
nonfiction writing contest right now for women.)
Of
course, who knows how your ideas and experiences might filter in anything you
write, whether or not you call it travel writing.
course, who knows how your ideas and experiences might filter in anything you
write, whether or not you call it travel writing.
So, where’s
your next trip? And what kinds of things do you pay attention to when you
travel? Fiction writers, how do you use travel for inspiration or research?
your next trip? And what kinds of things do you pay attention to when you
travel? Fiction writers, how do you use travel for inspiration or research?
Lynn DeFilippo is a teacher and
writer. She’s published a few essays in anthologies. After completing an MFA in
creative writing at UAA last year, she’s got lots of submissions out there in
the world.
writer. She’s published a few essays in anthologies. After completing an MFA in
creative writing at UAA last year, she’s got lots of submissions out there in
the world.
Fitting and inspiring! I too have to keep reminding myself to keep travel journal ruminations and premature mental processing to a minimum in favor of actual, in-the-moment details: singular images, names of things, conversations overhead. It's tough! Thanks, Lynn. I enjoyed all your tips and wish you happy travels ahead.
Fitting and inspiring! I too have to keep reminding myself to keep travel journal ruminations and premature mental processing to a minimum in favor of actual, in-the-moment details: singular images, names of things, conversations overhead. It's tough! Thanks, Lynn. I enjoyed all your tips and wish you happy travels ahead.
If you want snow, come to New England. When we went on a 6 week trip by automobile I wrote in a notebook during the day and sent our newsletter to friends cued by that notebook via email. My handwriting is awful…
Hi Lynn! Great post. Can I say "you've come a long way?" I mean it both figuratively and literally. I look forward to reading more from you.
Nancy
Thanks for the comments everyone. Gram, can't say I want snow, but I DO want the littlest MacBook Air – seems like the perfect backpacking travel writing companion.