Picture this: you’re heading out on vacation and will finally have time to work on your book, however, the only opportunities you’ll get to write is while on the plane, train, boat or in the hotel room where there is little familiarity, stability or consistency of routine.
But you’re prepared, because you’ve read this article.
As an author with a full-time day job I know how limited time can be, and how valuable any time that can be taken back and applied to writing is. I've compiled a list of strategies and tricks to help you make the most out of each and every opportunity you get to write, even when travelling.
So adjust your seatbelt, keep your hands on the keyboard at all times, and lets dive into the three key things that will help you learn how to write anytime and anywhere.
Have the Right Tools
Tools that offer offline mode, such as google docs, or software that can be downloaded to your computer, such as Scrivener, are both viable tools to have on hand to ensure you never miss an opportunity to capture inspiration.
I once wrote a dystopian romance while backpacking through Europe by crafting chapters on the notepad equivalent app of a 7x9 inch off-brand tablet that I had taken with me to watch movies. It can be done!
It doesn’t matter where you are so long as the tools you are using can:
Work without relying on WiFi
Be reliably backed up so you never lose your progress
Work for you, consistently and comfortably
Number one and two are intrinsically linked, because you want to ensure that any work written without WiFi can be properly saved, retrieved, or protected from loss. My personal approach is to save my work on a cloud-based platform. This way I can open the same project on different devices and work on them any time. Backups are saved locally to the devices, and then the cloud document is backed up once I am back on WiFi.
The system you use is up to you. Using One Drive I wrote the first draft of Book 2 The Lupatus Stone while working the ticket booth of a mountain resort during the off season.
Backing up your work is SUPER important. Trust me - as someone who has lost 3 university papers the day before they were due thanks to computer breakdowns, losing your work is one of the worst feelings out there.
Regularly back up your files. Save back-ups locally so that if the cloud copies fail you will have a file to fall back on. Ensure that cloud files are properly saved before closing any apps. And once every one to three months, back up your most important files on an external hard drive. Heck, the external hard drive could be the thing that you take with you everywhere to plug in and work on the go - no WiFi or cloud saving required.
Whether it’s a physical notebook or a digital one on your phone, a laptop or a tablet, use a tool that is easy for you and you will continue to use. All the best intentions fizzle out if we are not consistently using them, so finding a tool that is comfortable to you and works within your means is essential. As with all parts of writing, an important part of the author's journey is finding what works for you specifically.
Set Your Mindset
Being able to recreate your routine anywhere can be hugely advantageous for the flexible writer. And I don’t mean your physical set up, but instead the mental set up that helps you turn on focus mode and get ready to work. Having a structure trains your brain to know, “Now it’s writing time’, helps to promote consistency and productivity.
I have two tricks I use to get into the writing mood, and both are audio-based. Listening is the best way I’ve found to retain information, and it is how I best get into the mindset to turn information into action.
My first trick is to associate a project with specific music by making a playlist for each book I write. For example, my pirate fantasy playlist helps me dive into the swashbuckling adventure on the fantastical seas, compared to the playlist for The Lupatus Stone, Book 2 of the Wicked Conjuring series, that transports me to a moody, atmospheric forest.
My second trick is to listen to other people talk about writing. Watching a youtube video, listening to a podcast, or even just reading a book can be both inspiring and motivating to start writing. There are great resources out there, of varying lengths. I’ve compiled a list of some of my favourite resources on my website.
Having a comfortable and supportive physical set up is always recommended, but the way to keep productive when circumstances vary is to have the mental consistency of ‘getting into the zone’. Because just as life can be unpredictable, we cannot always rely on our mood to be conducive to writing.
Motivation can be an incredible force that inspires us to make goals. It can also be fleeting or tumultuous, easily influenced by both external and internal variables. As the American Psychological Association defines it:
The impetus that gives purpose or direction to behavior and operates in humans at a conscious or unconscious level
Motivation is what may encourage you to decide to write a book in the first place. Discipline, on the other hand, is the self-control that enables us to break that motivation into tangible action items and execute.
To put it simply, motivation is getting things done when you feel like it, while discipline is getting it done even when you don’t feel like it.
All that is to say that habit building takes time and practice. The 21-day process for building habits of the 1960’s isn’t a one-size-fits-all deadline and experts say that everyone’s habit-building timeline is different. Remember to be kind to yourself as you discover you develop your discipline. Your process looks different from someone else, and may even differ day to day, but it all contributes to your overall goal.
Writing Isn’t Always About Writing
Writing isn’t always about putting words onto paper. There is a lot of foundational work that goes into each and every story, and it is work easily done while on the go. Here are some other activities that aren’t writing but still contribute to your overall goals:
Some other activities that contribute to writing but are easier to execute while travelling:
Building aesthetic mood boards for inspiration
Creating a special playlist for writing or a specific project
Posting on social media for your author brand
Brainstorming world building
Writing character profiles
Plotting an outline
Writing a book blurb or marketing tag lines
Reading past work to pick out important quotes and moments
Daydreaming
As Ann Handley says in Everyone Writes:
Thinking is pre-writing. And prewriting is fundamental to actual writing.
Anything that is going back into your writing, counts as writing. Even if it’s not adding to the word count, it is contributing to your story.
Write Anytime, Anywhere
Writing is, in many ways, comparable to being a professional athlete; while we are all participating in the same activity we each have different means for getting our head in the game, warming up, and developing our skills. And much like an athlete, writing requires practice, discipline, and regular commitment even when you find yourself having to train on the go.
Of course as writers we don’t have the million dollar contracts, state of the art facilities, and professional staff to help us get there. Instead we have vast online communities of other hopeful artists just like us, trying to bring their story into the world, and those who came before us eager their experiences that we may, or may not, choose to adopt into our own process.
Writing is a very individualized activity, but by no means does it need to be undertaken alone. I hope that some of these tips and tricks may be useful to executing your craft even when all the pieces aren’t perfectly in place.
It may take some trial and error but one of the most important parts of being a writer is the journey to uncover what writing process works for you.
Keep writing!
References:
Clear, J. (2020, February 4). How long does it actually take to form a new habit? (backed by science). https://jamesclear.com/new-habit
Gardner, B., Lally, P., & Wardle, J. (2012). Making health habitual: The psychology of ‘habit-formation’ and general practice. British Journal of General Practice, 62(605), 664–666. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3505409/.
Handley, A. (2023). Everybody writes: Your new and improved go-to guide to creating ridiculously good content. Wiley.
Maltz, M. (1060) Psycho-Cybernetics. Simon & Schuster.
Solis-Moreira, J. (2024, February 20). How long does it really take to form a habit?. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-long-does-it-really-take-to-form-a-habit/#:~:text=A%20hallmark%202009%20study%20on,running%20for%2015%20minutes%20before
Cover Photo by Hayley Maxwell on Unsplash
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