Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt.
Don’t forget to click the purple button to see what everyone else has to say on this week’s subject. It’s at the end of my post.
Do you write while you are travelling? How do you make it work?
I don’t really travel that much these days. But when I do, I carry a notebook and pen just about everywhere I go.
I learned my lesson, a few years ago, when I had an idea for a short story while I was waiting for a delayed appointment. In the hour or so that I had to wait, I wrote the basis of the tale on my mobile phone, using the keypad and my thumb.
There’s a link to that short story below.
While I understand that you have to suffer for your art, after that experience, I resolved never to travel without a better way of getting the words down.
At first, I had a small keyboard that connected to my phone but that proved hard to carry and use, hence the return to a notebook.
I also have a dictation app on my phone that I can use for making quick notes in places where I can use it without seeming weird or appearing to be some sort of spy. This app converts my words to a document file and saves it in the cloud, so that I can edit it or join it onto another piece when I get home.
If I get an idea while driving, I just have to hold it in my head, unless I have a passenger who will write it down for me (thanks, Yvonne) or a convenient place to stop for a moment.
All in all, I think I’ve got it covered.
And the story I wrote with my thumb? You can find it here.
Please read it and tell me what you think. Was it worth the week or so of muscle pain that resulted?
How about you? If you’re a writer, what method do you use to get the words down? Please comment below, then head on over to see what the other contributors to this bloghop have to say on the subject.
Until next time.
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Stevie Turner
Yes, I carry a notebook and pen around too. I suppose I could type notes on my phone, but it doesn’t usually occur to me to do that. A notebook is easier!
Richard Dee
The phone thing was a combination of boredom and a desire not to lose the thread of a tale. I was pleased with the result but, never again.
P.J. MacLayne
I have a hard time typing a legible text on my phone, let alone a story!
Richard Dee
I was actually getting quite fast by the end of it. It’s not a skill I wish to maintain.
Lela Markham
Typing with your thumbs, the worst!
I carry a notebook and I also, if I can, bring my laptop. I don’t use my cell for verbal notes because people look at you weird when you’re talking to yourself in the airport.
Richard Dee
I’ve received the funny looks, there seem to be a lot of guilty/suspicious people about. Maybe there’s a story there?
Samantha J Bryant
I use voice memo and the Notes app on my phone quite a bit, too. And I enjoyed your story! Wish stories often go so dark, so it was kind of cool that yours felt upbeat and hopeful. @samanthabwriter from
Balancing Act
Richard Dee
Thanks, it seemed such a simple idea.