I get a lot of inspiration from travelling and don’t see myself stopping until health or other circumstances prevent me. When I recently returned from a five-week trip to Norway, Iceland and the UK, quite a few people asked if I wrote while I was away. Umm …. no.
When I travel to write, I stay in one place for at least a few days. I nestle into a routine of walking, writing, and reading. I also need to be alone for maximum writing output. However, when I travel with my photographer husband, it is often not conducive to writing.
On this trip, we covered a lot of ground every day. We often spent seven hours in the car (aside from stops for a walk to a lovely site for photographing) The days were long in the lands of the Midnight Sun, so we’d begin early in the morning and finish late at night. It was also busy with crowds of Instagram influencers everywhere. As a result, we headed to the less crowded, more remote places and sometimes found ourselves alone. I have several photos on mountaintops with my arms wide in the silence, embracing the scene before me.
People connect with God in different ways and I am a word person, as well as a nature person. I love reading about spirituality and when I come across a particularly beautiful piece of spiritual writing, my heart expands to embrace the inspiration.
I get a similar feeling when I’m on a mountaintop or beach. Something about nature makes me want to sing hymns. Why hymns? I’m not sure why, but How Great Thou Art is my favourite mountaintop hymn.
These moments of connection and inspiration come home with me in the photos, in the memories, and in the notes I scribble at the time. When I get home, my writing is informed by these experiences and the inspirational return from travel compounds.
I’ve come home with thousands of photos of beautiful places, memories of incredible experiences and material for several articles or stories. So, when people ask me if I did any writing while I was away, I say no. But, somehow, the inspiration filters through and the writing comes. Travel gives wings to my writing and that’s one reason I love it so much.
Oh the beauty you must have seen, Elaine. Those scenes with the emotions they engender surely filter through your writing. You’re never the same after seeing things you haven’t even imagined. So, keep on moving, gal!
Thank you for the encouragement, Rita. ❤️ You have lived the travelling /writing life as well and know the journey well. Xx