Using travel for writing inspiration...

 I love exploring new places and I have always felt that travel is a great source of inspiration for creativity and writing. When I used to daydream about being an author, I’d have all these stereotypical ideals of writing in the Tuscany sunshine or writing whilst picnicking next to an expansive lake with towering mountains either side, and although I have never actually done this, I have always associated travel with escape and freedom- just like writing. When I immerse myself in a new environment, I find that I am able to actually breathe and feel an overwhelming sense of just being alive- I know that probably sounds cliched or melodramatic, but I think there are so many breath-taking sights in this world and nothing can quite match just being there and actually feeling a great sense of appreciation of what we have. A moment away from all the madness. 

I want to use travel as a source of inspiration for my writing. I read somewhere recently that writers tend to write more effectively about things they have experienced and seen, and although my current writing is more in the realm of magical realism, I really feel that I can use these experiences to shape my ideas. I’ve recently travelled to Scotland and although I live in a town that has one of the highest Scottish populations outside of Scotland, I had never been before and was pleasantly surprised with what I found. That is something I truly love about living in the UK, for a relatively small island it has so much variety in terms of natural beauty and terrain. I was not quite expecting the mountains. I’d seen mountains before, of course- I’ve been to both the Peak and Lake District and have also climbed Snowdon, but driving through Glencoe, for example, and seeing that beautiful, rugged and wild terrain was (another cliché warning) absolutely breath-taking. Whilst we were in the Scottish countryside, the weather was awful with rain almost every day, but I liked the moody ambience of it. I found it inspiring for building ideas around creating mood and atmosphere. I felt an urge to write about journeys, adventure, challenges and escape in harsh, unforgiving environments. 

We also stayed in Edinburgh for four days on our trip, and although the city didn’t have the same isolated and powerful essence, it projected all of its beauty in quite a different way and the adventure was certainly still there. We explored the city, observing its life and landscapes, and finding all of its little oddities and mysteries, like the odd weeping angel-esque statue we found in one of the rivers (pictured to the right) and the hidden rooms within the bridges and the forgotten homes underground- a place full of fascinating history with so many stories to uncover.

Although having to return to reality is always tough, I now have a bank of ideas, inspiration and moments that I can’t wait to start forming into stories as soon as I can get hold of my notebook. And, even better, I get to relive all these experiences and moments again when I am writing them down