If there was one thing I learned while traveling abroad, it’s this: writing while abroad is far more difficult than one would expect. In all the travel vlogs and blogs I researched before going on my trip, they made writing seem as though it was an effortless and natural part of travel. In reality, it takes a huge amount of mental fortitude and commitment: here’s why.
No matter how much you enjoy writing, if you’re a travel writer, you often enjoy traveling even more than you enjoy writing. The problem is that every time you take time to write, it feels as though it’s taking you away from time that could have been spent adventuring and making memories. It makes you pick a cafe, or a hotel room, or a sunny spot in a park, and write. It makes you work. It makes you do something that you could do anywhere. All while you are in a place you may have always wanted to go to, with so much still to see.
Not only does it take away from “adventure time”, but it makes vacation feel just a little bit like work, especially when you have to write. Even if you’re not required, like I was, to write while you travel, it can still feel arduous. Nobody wants to work while traveling and no one wants traveling to feel like work.
If you are, however, able to get past those initial barriers, writing while traveling can have lots of benefits. The first of these benefits is that it forces you to observe. Instead of just floating through experiences and interactions, it forces you to take a step back and ask questions: what makes this experience unique? What is the narrative here? How would someone who has never traveled before see this?
These questions encourage you to really take in a situation. It allows you to realize how lucky you are to experience this thing, and to me, it helps me remember why I write things down. These are experiences I want to be able to relive, and that I want my readers to live through, even though they may never be able to travel. It allows you to document those first blush reactions, the true, authentic emotions you feel right when something happens. Writing makes sure the memory of your experiences that were once knife-sharp never become dull.
Practically, it can be very useful for planning your day around a narrative, a seamless adventure. It also helps you get through tough situations. Where normally you would be scared, changing your perspective, you can see this dangerous situation as an opportunity for a great story. This perspective shift allows you to stay relaxed, and pushes you outside your comfort zone, encouraging you to do things you never thought you could or would.
On a more personal note, for me it helps me sort through my feelings and process these amazing once-in-a-lifetime experiences. It grounds me. It also helps me stay spontaneous. Instead of settling into my hotel room after an awe-inspiring day hike, or a saunter through the city, it makes me go out and explore the city at night. I can’t share a thorough story about this place if I only experience it for half the day. It makes me crave adventure, talk to people I never would have, and do things that I normally never would, all so I can write the most interesting story later. Somewhere along the way, I also realized I’m making the most amazing memories, as well.
Writing while traveling abroad is hard, there's no doubt about that. But, writing while traveling can transform your experiences for the better. No matter how hard it is, to me, the benefits far outweigh the difficulties.