Vacationing as Writing Moments

By Kelly Bridgewater

With summer in full swing, I am sure many of you are gearing up for a summer trip. A week away from the planned schedules. A week of no cleaning, hopefully. A week of doing nothing you normally do. A week to relax and make memories with your family.

But have you ever thought of vacations as prime spots for capturing inspiration for future or current writing projects.

Well . . . It can be.

How about people watching? Have you ever gone to a restaurant and just observed the people around you? Pay attention to how the mature adults eat and talk. Pay attention to families with teenagers. They ignore each other and play with their phones. (That's why my boys don't have cell phones. I make them talk to me during the meals. Gasp!) What about the young family with the baby in the high chair or booster seat? I remember those days. Some days were nice. Some were horrible. Screaming kid while trying to get them to eat. Everyone staring at you, judging you.

From our family trip to Walt Disney World in 2015

How about listening to your surroundings? Enter a new city. Listen to the sounds. Close your eyes. What do you hear? What do you smell? Touch odd things as you move with the flow of the city. Take everything in. If you're in a big city, then write down that feeling you have when you saw the big skyscrapers. Might be important to a character later.

What about a national park? Take pictures. Listen to the nature and quiet. Smell the dirt and surroundings. Stand in awe of God's beauty. Might be important to a character later.

I enjoy traveling, if though we don't really travel a lot, and I want to do more, but I love to take a notebook with me to record my thoughts and what I see, hear, smell, and feel. I even have my 16 year old son doing the same thing. He wants to remember everything on our trips.

What about you? Do you remember to capture the writing inspiration God has given to you when you are on vacation? Share one of the most neat "finds" from a vacation you went on. Did you use in a piece of writing?