Managing time on the road as a travel writer

The essence of travel writing resides in the stories we live on the road: from the narratives of greats such as Chatwin, Theroux, Darlymple and others, to the tiny weblogs of your latest holidays, we are surrounded by more travel literature than what we can possibly consume. Some of it provides outstanding quality and catches a still literary photography of cultures, times and moments; other presents less vivid accounts of a person's daily activities, a more monotonous list of facts and places.

Besides its quality, one thing is actually clear about travel literature: like most writing, it is more time consuming than reading. And it may be more easily done from your apartment, after returning from your trip, than from the road.

Italian travel writer Giorgio Bettinelli (Picture credit: www.twowheelsblog.com )

Sparing an hour or two per day for some literary production is definitely more feasible than finding time from a busy schedule of train departures, sightseeing, meetings with local friends. Italian travel writer Giorgio Bettinelli – may you rest in peace, my friend – , a man who travelled the world on a Vespa scooter for 14 years and visited more than 150 countries, confessed me that he never wrote as he travelled. Too much time sitting on the motorbike, too much stress, and the very few moments of pure concentration could only spoil his creative stream. He preferred to return to Taiwan or China where he resided with his wife, kick back and type away many hours per day for two to three months, and then set off again for the next adventure.

Unfortunately for most of us, unlike Giorgio, we do not have a publisher anticipating book royalties, and we have to struggle with writing assignments to survive. Freelance writing, an already poorly paid activity, becomes very difficult to manage as we cross borders and move along the world's maps. Personally, as I am travelling hard this year, I have found it quite exhausting to return from 7 hours day hikes and find myself forced to progress with my writing. Like a good schoolboy, I type away until my eyes collapse, and sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with the laptop's led blinking at my sleepy face.

Travelling and writing, as two antithetical activities, require time and dedication spent pursuing a final goal: discovery, and creation. As much as an expatriate can manage writing time into an organized weekly schedule – because let's face it, being an expatriate can be enlightening, but it is still very far from the joy and freedom of reckless travel! -, a travel writer may have a problem jotting down his best lines as he moves across the globe.

A laptop is definitely a great tool to pursue this activity, but it generally works best when the writer stays in a place longer, and has less time or drive to discover. In my case, as I greatly enjoy exploring and the outdoors, I find myself more on the field than at the coffee table typing. The time spent riding buses or the train is sometimes not productive due to the extreme bumpy conditions of my favorite Asian roads, or the continuous opportunities to meet new local friends and indulge into conversation…

How do you manage your writing on the road, being it travel related or not? Do you prefer to keep a daily schedule, or do you take notes and write when you return at home?

I think this is an interesting topic; especially poignant as I was good enough to type this article during a bumpy bus ride, crossing the Bardia National Park in Western Nepal… for this time, I am giving a good "dedicated travel writing" example :-)