How to Travel Like a Writer

Alyssa Hollingsworth | April 8, 2016

4. Try New Things

Travel is full of new experiences, but you’ll happen upon them even more if you’re looking (and asking). For example:

A friend of mine doing research for her semi-arctic story ate fermented shark while we were in Iceland because she felt it would be an authentic experience. (I am not writing anything set in the arctic and so did not partake.)

When my mom went to Western China to visit my sister, they did as the locals do and went sand dune sledding. (Spoiler: Not as elegant as it looks in The Force Awakens.)

While visiting Bath, I asked a man in costume about the Georgian ha-ha walls outside of a neighborhood called the Crescent. This turned into a spur-of-the-moment walking tour of the city, with me taking copious notes all the way.

Alyssa Hollingsworth / Own Work

Even if the thing you’re trying is scary (like going whale watching in rough seas) or out of your comfort zone (like swing dancing in the streets of Spain), the experiences you seize will improve your writing and widen your creative tools.

Just don’t forget to write it all down!

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