Your experiences in writing when being abroad, or on vacation?

I've never been able to do any significant writing on vacation. I'm usually just too tired after a day out doing vacation stuff.

I find that when I go somewhere new, my senses kind of wake up or something. I notice things more in a new environment and it's very good for my writing. I'll be spending a month in another state before too long and hope to get some good stories out of it.

Never been out of the country, or on a big vacation, but I have taken my laptop with me on trips. Since I usually write in the evening before bed - a time when I'd be at the hotel anyway - I didn't have a problem sneaking in a little writing. Getting up early might be another solution. But big vacations might be more draining than the little jaunts I take.

Don't put too much pressure on yourself to be productive - that would rather ruin the purpose of a vacation, I'd think. If you manage to write, great. If not, the world probably won't end if you take some time away from your story.

The only time I've been out of the country, I was living with a host family and not speaking any English. I did try to write a bit but noticed that my vocabulary recall suffered massively and it was more frustrating than anything else so I quit trying

I echo the "wouldn't put pressure on myself to get anything done while on vacation" - my laptop goes with me everywhere so I might write at night before bed (my habitual writing time) if I FELT like it, but eh.

Have fun!!!! I hear Spain is lovely.

I agree with Fruitbat, when away from home a strange thing happens and I start writing more prolifically. It does depend on the length of stay. If it's just for a few days, I don't find the time or energy to write - gotta experience all the holiday things. But if the holiday lasts longer than a week - preferably two or more - then I find I have plenty of spare time to write. And, as Fruitbat suggests, a weird sense of wonder and freedom creeps in because of the 'alien' environment I'm in. I suppose that's why Writers' Retreats are so popular.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

I usually can't write while traveling, so I rarely bring along my laptop. But there were two exceptions.

One, I was in a location that was to be in my wip at the time. Being on location gave me some ideas for a scene (or short series of scenes), and being laptopless, I wrote those down longhand.

Two, I'd been asked by an agent at a conference for a proposal that I didn't have. I came home to discover that the shooting in the Wisconsin Gurdwara had happened, and I was on the front lines in my area dealing with media. At the end of the week, we drove to my mother's (planned trip, not an escape); I brought my laptop and wrote most of the proposal while I was there.

So, my suggestion: have fun; if you get ideas, write 'em down, but don't sweat it.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

I work over-seas, so being 'home' in the states is more vacation for me. That said, I never get anything done when I'm there. So I guess I don't write on vacation. A good break is refreshing. Not too long- a few weeks'll do. Any longer and I start churning anytihng out just so I don't get rusty.

That said, Spain is friggin' awesome. I dunno how you vacation, but when I visit another country for pleasure, I'm usually too drunk to write anything in the evening, and too hung over in the morning lol.

For my freshman year in college, my whole class had the opportunity to go to London for Spring Break, as part of my school trying to get more kids into studying abroad.

We weren't allowed to bring laptops, but nothing stopped me from bringing a notebook. Because all the events and such were still scheduled and mandated by the school, i didn't have much free time to write, but I'm the kind of person who lives in my head daydreaming 24/7 anyway. With the long bus rides around to different attractions, the long plane ride both ways, and the places we visited. Despite the lack of time to write i got more inspiration then I even knew what to do with.

At the end of the month, I'm taking a trip out to CO, to visit a friend who is a park ranger up on the rocky mountains. I'm staying there for a few days and while he's at work i'm really hoping to get some writing done in the fresh mountain air.

Best thing to do IMO would be to create memories, adventures, capers in Spain. Dance. Music. Color. The people. This way you have a heck of a lot more to write about when you get home instead of nose to laptop while there.

Experience is one of the best tools you can have in your toolbox. It sure comes in handy with the ole "write what you know."

I studied abroad for a year in an non-English speaking country, living with a host family and by the time I had settled in enough to attempt writing again, my English had suffered!

I went to another non-English speaking country for a 2 months at the beginning of this year and I managed to write, but it was really on and off depending on my mood and whether or not I wanted to explore.

I have not been abroad since I started writing, and my vacations have been three, maybe four days away, typically staying with family somewhere.

Because I tend to wake up much earlier than anyone in my family, I bring my notebook and a supply of pens with me. The hour or two I get before anyone else gets up allows me to get a decent amount done, and because I also don't usually have more than limited access to computers at these points (and would feel kind of weird about using someone else's anyway), I don't have the distraction of the internet. I can be fairly productive without being anti-social and disappearing in the middle of the day.

I've been backpacking/working for two years and write as much as I can everywhere I go.
I get a lot of ideas from the different people I meet and the things I see, so I guess it helps in a way.
Writing is a great way to pass the time when you're stuck in airports or stuck in a crappy hostel waiting for your next trip.
It's fun

When I'm going ANYWHERE for a long period of time, I bring my laptop with me. Going to be stuck at a store with a cafe/food area for hours, going to an appointment, spending the night at someone's house. XD

Do I actually write? It REALLY really depends I guess.

When I go on vacation, I get these random bursts of inspiration at the oddest times. Last time I travelled, I wrote half a short story one night that I couldn't sleep. I've yet to finish it, but hope to one day soon.

If I have time to write, I won't, I just can't. So when on holiday I mop up inspiration, make notes and build memories.

I write my best when I should be doing something else, and that makes vacations very bad for the word count.

I went to Malaysia for about two weeks and managed to write close to 20,000 words. On the other hand I almost never left my hotel the entire time. On the third hand I'm not the sort of person who goes places or does things anyways. So to answer your question, I don't know.

I wrote a big piece of novel in Puebla, Mexico, in the Hotel Colonial. I wrote nonstop for 4 days, moving from my room to the dining room to the lobby with a pen and a legal pad. No one bothered me. I am sure the hotel staff was thinking Gringa Loca but the tranquility was wonderful--s6

Anytime I travel I get prepared because I know my creative side will come alive - and there's nothing I can do to stop it. I wrote massive amounts when I lived in Germany for 2 months, I wrote incredible poems when chilling in the Adirondacks, and my fingers surprised me with a brand new shiny story in Peru.

It seems there are a lot of people that get very creative when they travel. Then again, by reading the replies, there are some people that just don't work that way. You'll have to try it and be prepared for anything.

The creative juices kick into high gear whenever I travel, esp. abroad. I usually end up writing at night.

I take my laptop wherever I go, but especially on vacation. Because of health problems, I usually have to spend a day resting after a day of sightseeing, so I have plenty of time to write. Plus, writing is the most enjoyable thing I do. It isn't physically taxing and it makes me happy, so of course I'm going to write, even on vacation.

I don't remember whether I wrote anything significant during our trip to the UK two years ago, but I did get a lot of firsthand experience that really helped with my second novel, which takes place in London. I'd already written the novel, but I was able to go back and insert some great details, like describing what London-Heathrow looks like. Or what it's like to ride the Tube. I missed my chance to explore the park where my MC is chased by aliens, but my husband has promised to take me back.

When visiting the inlaws, I used to get lots of writing done between about 6:30 am and when everyone else would wake up. It was great. Down timin the car or.on airplanes was a great time to let ideas ruminate.

Most of my vacations have been working vacations. I only write five hours per day, five days per week, when home. I can easily do this on vacation, and still have plenty of time to see the sights and enjoy myself.

Calls to mind one of the most enjoyable vacations I ever had. My cousin and I spent a couple of weeks at a seaside resort. In the morning she painted and I wrote. Our afternoons were spent on the beach, on the water or walking around tourist spots. Both of us got a lot done and had a nice rest too. Best of both worlds.

ishtar'sgate said:

Calls to mind one of the most enjoyable vacations I ever had. My cousin and I spent a couple of weeks at a seaside resort. In the morning she painted and I wrote. Our afternoons were spent on the beach, on the water or walking around tourist spots. Both of us got a lot done and had a nice rest too. Best of both worlds.

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Sounds perfect, to me.