8 Things Writers Should Do While Traveling

If you use travel as writing inspiration, first of all, welcome to Voyage Scribe, a community for writers and travelers! Second of all, you likely know all the great benefits. Traveling is my number one favorite way to get writing inspiration, and I’m sure this is true for many traveling writers.

When traveling, there are certain things writers in particular need to remember to do to make the most out of the trip creatively. Here they are.

P.S. Need helping actually writing while traveling? Check these tips out too.

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1. Journal

This may go without saying, but write down everything. You should write down what you did, but also all the details and thoughts coming into your head, because you’ll forget later.

Write down how the different places you saw and experiences you had made you feel. Write down what all your senses were experiencing. Write down conversations you had and new things you learned.

You never know what’s going to help you get writing inspiration later on as you revisit the written memories that you may have otherwise forgotten.

2. Take a small notebook and pen with you everywhere

Take notes about everything in a notebook. I don’t know about you, but my phone almost always dies when I’m traveling. The constant use of it for navigation, translation, videotaping and photographing means that I’m usually low on battery by lunchtime.

That’s why I never rely on it as a writing device when traveling. Instead, I invest in a small, lightweight notebook to jot down any ideas or moments I don’t want to forget.

When I’m exploring new places, my brain is stimulated in a way that creative writing ideas flow in left and right. I need to trap them in my notebooks in case I forget them later.

I’ve actually really struggled finding the right notebook to take traveling with me. That’s why I created my own! You can buy the Travel Journal for Writers on Amazon.

It includes space to journal, but it also has organized space for your writing ideas, name ideas, miscellaneous ideas and random thoughts! It’s available in paperback so that it doesn’t take up too much luggage weight allowance and is easily portable.

I sell other journals, which you can find here.

3. Stop writing. Go live.

I once went a solo trip to Lisbon, Portugal, and I was planning to use it as a solo writing retreat. I was living in the rainy, uninspiring Netherlands at the time, and I was hoping a week in the sunny south would help me overcome my period of “writer’s block.”

When I arrived in Lisbon, the writing retreat didn’t happen. And I couldn’t be happier.

I ended up meeting some amazing people at my hostel, and together we explored the city and surrounding areas, sharing our life stories along the way. I now have stories about both my experiences on the trip and stories I heard from the people I met, all of which I can now use for writing inspiration. I wouldn’t have had any of that inspiration if I were sitting alone writing for most of the trip.

To write about the world and its people, you have to understand the world and its people. And travel is, to my knowledge, the best and most exciting way to do that. It may be tempting for writers to plop down in a beautiful place and only write while hit with a wave of inspiration while traveling, but this is how new inspiration and ideas are missed.

4. Talk to people

Speaking of which, you should talk to as many people as you can while traveling. It’s the fastest way to understand the lives of others who don’t come from the same background as you.

Strike up a conversation with a local, ask your tour guide questions about what life is like in the place you’re visiting and be friendly with other tourists. Most are coming from different countries and cultures, and you can learn a lot about various ways of life from visiting just one place.

I find that it’s easiest to meet new people in hostels. Although full disclosure, the main reason I stay in hostels is because I’m young and broke. If you don’t feel comfortable sleeping in a room full of strangers, many hostels offer private rooms. This way you can have the privacy of staying at a hotel but still have the social benefits and community vibes of a hostel when using the common areas.

Another tip I have is to stay in an Airbnb. You can stay with a local who can give you more insider insight on the place you’re visiting.

5. Try new things

You should write about what you know. But you should also strive to know more in order to have more to write about. That’s why traveling writers who like to experience new things will never run out of writing inspiration.

Try new foods. Try to learn new languages. Go on adventures. Learn an activity that is native to the place, like a sport or dance.

A great way to experience new things is by booking an Airbnb Experience. You can interact with locals and learn new things at the same time, like how to cook a national dish from a local.

6. Learn more about the location

If you want to truly understand a place, if you want to write about it deeply, you must be familiar with its history and traditions.

Read up on the history and culture of the place. Take tours of the city. Ask locals to give you their take on their country or city. Explore beyond the tourist traps and see the “real” places.

Get so familiar with it that setting a story in this place will be easier than setting a story in the place where you grew up.

7. Dedicate time to write

This may seem contradicting to #3, but while you should be living, learning and experiencing during your travels, you should also parcel out a tiny bit of time to write. Stay an extra day if you can, and write while you’re still on your travels.

Remember that failed writing retreat I had in Lisbon? On my last full day, I excused myself from the activities of the group I met. Half the day I spent wandering the city by myself, soaking in as much inspiration as I could. The other half of the day I spent writing in my journal, in a park and later on a bench by the castle on the hill.

Do you know how easily writing inspiration comes when you’re sitting in the midst of history with a gorgeous view of the city you fell in love with laid out below you? I suggest you try it and find out.

8. Keep writing about it

When you get back home, don’t stop writing about your trip.

It can sometimes be hard to write about travels when you’re back home in your mundane life. The magic and excitement of travel disappears, and you wonder whether it ever even happened.

If you ever experienced this, check out my travel writing prompts, which are designed to help you gain writing inspiration from your past travels. They help traveling writers remember things they may have forgotten and help brainstorm story topics.

You can find the current one here, and you can also sign up to receive new ones by email. I send out a newsletter every two weeks with a new writing prompt, and you have the chance to be published if you create a story based on the prompt!

Also, you can pick up a copy of some of the best travel-related creative writing prompts in print form by ordering this journal.