In
Under the Black Flag: The Romance and
Reality of Life Among the Pirates (Random House 1996), author David
Cordingly describes how the thirty-year-old Robert Louis Stevenson began
writing Treasure Island while on
holiday with his family in the Scottish mountains. They had a summer cottage,
and Stevenson’s stepson and father delighted in listening to the chapters as he
wrote them, giving him suggestions for characters and plot. Stevenson quickly
finished the first fifteen chapters and had a contract to publish the story in
installments when his writing stalled. He returned home from vacation and
corrected the proofs, but made no further progress with the writing.
Because
of his precarious health, in the autumn, Stevenson went with his wife and stepson
to Switzerland. Upon arriving, he rediscovered inspiration and described his
experience as: “down I sat one morning to the unfinished tale; and behold! it
flowed from me like small talk; and in a second tide of delighted industry, and
again at a rate of a chapter a day, I finished Treasure Island.”
 |
| Robert Louis Stevenson |
Last
Tuesday on WWK, when Sam Morton wrote about finding his muse, Warren Bull commented
that he found his muse in travel. I’ve had that experience, too.
I’ve
often read that the cure for writer’s block is to change activity, because the
subconscious works while the mind is preoccupied with other pursuits. Even switching
from typing to hand-writing can be enough to turn on a light bulb.
Just
recently, I had been puzzling over the back-story for a character when I had
the opportunity to hand-write the word “pharmacist.” A day later, it came to me
what my character had studied in college and why she took a different route
from working in a drug store.
Whenever
I travel, I find ideas come at me from all directions. Not just spurred
on by the new venues and people I see, but because I feel freed to make
connections that seemed impossible or at least elusive at home.
I
began wondering about this phenomenon and came up with the following reasons
why it occurs. When you travel you:
(1)
Have to face your fears. Even
though you may have trepidation about the journey or regret about what you’re
leaving behind, once you start, you've committed to dealing with your apprehension
and facing the situation as you encounter it. The moment of decision is over
and the moment of action has begun.
(2) Have to leave your comfort zone.
Travel takes you out of the safety of your nest and forces you to roost in
foreign territory. You have to pack to accommodate your needs, but you have to
travel lightly, so you can't be weighed down with baggage. You have to carry the
essentials. It's freeing not to have too many things to tie you down. And, if
you're serious about writing, you have to figure out how to fit it into your
travel schedule. I’ve found my iPad with bluetooth keyboard to an be ideal
companion, particularly since it also contains an e-Reader with many downloaded
novels to be read!
(3)
Have to move. Motion provides
its own momentum. For me, time spent driving from one place to another is
never wasted, but gives me a chance to think about my writing and helps me come
to new conclusions.
Inspirational
travel doesn’t have to be long distance. It might simply be a change in
routine, or in the way you move. This year, I’ve taken tap dancing (to be
described in a later blog) and exercise classes. The activities seem to have
enhanced my creativity and writing output.
Recently,
seeing new and unexpected signs in familiar locations has given me story ideas.
One was at my neighborhood Chick-fil-a (which I mentioned in my comment to
Sam’s post about finding your muse). The restaurant was advertising a
“father-daughter date night.” Since seeing the post card announcement, I’ve plotted a story and written the first draft, going back to the Chick-fil-a to type
it, while sipping coffee and eating fruit. I haven’t figured out yet what to
make of the sign I saw at Dunkin’ Donuts (on a steep overgrown slope behind the drive-through lane, the sign read, "City Park--No Dumping," and the area looked like a prime location for a hidden body), but I’m willing to continue patronizing the store until I can work
it out!
Where
have you gone lately, and how has it influenced your writing?
