Travel Log as Writing Practice

February 3, 2020February 4, 2020 confidentwriterLeave a comment

Whenever I take a big trip, I vow to write down my observations, discoveries, and thoughts so that I can remember the nuances of the place I’m visiting. The first few days I feverish write in my journal about what I saw, the food I ate and my overall impressions. My intention is to use these notes for a blog post or an essay. And believe it or not, it sometimes works. But more often my intentions fizzle by the third day of my trip.

Maybe it’s grandiose, but I keep hearing Jean Picard from Star Trek in my head saying, “Captain’s log, 02-2020.” It makes me think I should keep a log of my trip by blogging as I go.

It sounds like nerdy fun, but I have to admit I’m nervous. It generally takes me all day to write a blog post. My perfectionist has a hard time letting go. And who wants to spend her vacation in her hotel room revising and revising her blog?

Not me!

But maybe there’s another way to think about it.

The authors of Art & Fear talk about an experiment with two sets of artists. The first set had to complete a painting a day and the other group worked on one painting the entire time. The group that did a painting a day showed vast improvement in their skill. They didn’t have time to fuss with their mistakes. They had to move on.

Writing on the fly has the potential to make us better writers. It forces us to quiet our inner critic and focus on getting words on the page.

So I’m going to test that theory by starting my spin on the captain’s log. So here we go. . .

Kim’s Travel log 02032020

We (my husband and I) landed in Zurich, Switzerland Saturday morning. We breezed through customs. The lines were relatively short and moved quickly. Then we took a two-hour train done to Lausanne. During most of the train ride, we were blurry-eyed and unable to sustain a conversation. Neither of us got much sleep on the plane. My husband fell asleep. I tried to keep my eyes open as we rode through the Swiss countryside. The houses and apartment buildings along the train tracks looked decidedly European.

Once at our hotel, we got a partial view of Lake Geneva and the Alps. It was cloudy and drizzly.

After a quick two hour nap, we headed out to take a better look at the view. As we walked along the path next to the lake, I felt such a sense of peace.

The next day, Michael had to meet with his team, so I was on my own to explore. My first stop was the Olympic Museum.

Lausanne is the Olympics capital, housing the international Olympic Committee. I wouldn’t describe myself as overly interested in the Olympics, but I thought it was worthwhile to see what the museum had to offer.

The Olympic museum sits on top of a hill facing Lake Geneva. There are several steps leading up to the building. Enough that I questioned whether or not it was worth the climb. But I decided it was.

Every fourth step has the city and the year of a specific game. It’s surrounded by a beautiful park with bronze statues of different sports. All of the statues were of men and they were nude. It sort of made me chuckle because who rides their bike in the nude? Nonetheless, the statues were beautiful.

Just outside of the museum, there is a flame burning.

I wasn’t sure what I would find inside, and to be honest I doubted it would take me very long to make my way through it. But surprisedly, I was totally engrossed in the exhibits and displays.

I loved learning that the Olympic Games started in 776 BC as a festival worshiping Zeus. They ended when a Christian emperor stopped the games in 393 AD because they were seen as pagan worship.

I also found it interesting that during the Olympic Games the various countries that participated entered into a peace treaty so that the athletes could travel to Athens in safety. There is still a similar type of agreement in place today.

There was an entire exhibit hall dedicated to Pierre De Coubertin, who is seen as the father of the modern Olympics. I found his thoughts on the importance of the games inspiring.

There was also a fascinating display of all the torches used in the modern games. I especially liked seeing the torch from the 1996 games held in Atlanta, which I attended. Just seeing the torch bought back the emotions I felt when Muhammad Ali ran into the stadium carrying it. I admit I got a little choked up when I saw a video loop replaying that moment.

One of the exhibits had equipment, uniforms, trunks, and shoes from certain Olympic winners. The most exciting to me was seeing Michael Phelps’s swim tights, Usain Bolt’s jersey and the ball used by the original dream team. And seeing Jesse Owens shoe was especially poignant. I couldn’t help but think about the plight of the world when he won back in 1936. It was another emotional moment.

I left the museum with three inspirational thoughts that easily apply to writing:

• Look ahead, speak frankly, act boldly.” This was Pierre de Coubertin’s personal philosophy. This sentiment is at heart of what we do as writers. We see beyond the moment, speak our truth and act boldly by being courageous enough to share our work.

• The Olympic Spirit is to build a better world by improving relations between people and the way they live. We as writers endeavor to do the same thing by sharing our stories and giving voice to the marginalized. And this is achieved the same way athletes do it, by focusing on three key values: excellence, solidarity, and respect.

• “The important thing in life is not the triumph, but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well.” — Pierre de Coubertin. This sort of sums up the reason we endeavor to keep our butts in the chair.

That’s all I have for today. More tomorrow.

Back to Blogging

July 17, 2019 confidentwriter2 Comments

I’m blogging again. It’s been a while. I could list a multitude of excuses as to why, but that would serve no real purpose other than to make me feel better. So I’ll spare you.

Since my last blog, I relocated from Atlanta to Tampa. My transition included two apartments, one townhouse, six offers to buy or sell, the purchase of one house and the sale of another, and a storage unit with more boxes than will ever fit in our current home.

Fortunately, the last two years has also included quite a bit of travel. Most trips have been two to three day little jaunts, accompanying my husband on his business trips. But there have also been a few fun girls trips and lots of wine tasting. My friends and family have gotten so used to me traveling that they frequently start our conversations by asking where I am or when is my next trip. My life coach teased me once by saying, “Girl, you need to start a travel blog.”

“I should,” I said jokingly.

Although the idea appealed to me, there were a hundred reasons why it wouldn’t work. I didn’t have anything new to contribute to the ton of travel blogs that already exist. Sure, I could write about what to wear to get through TSA quickly or how to efficiently packing a carry-on for multiple events. That’s hardly enough to sustain a blog and not that interesting.

But then I thought about the blog I wrote two years ago. It was a travel blog of sorts. It didn’t give advice about where to stay or what to see. Instead, it talked about how my travel experience affected how I saw myself. (Here’s Vacation Blue, if you missed it.)

I pondered and played with ways to turn this into a travel blog. I even wrote a practice blog about my trip to Portland, Oregon, and spent nearly a month working on a transition piece explaining why I was switching to a travel blog.

But something didn’t feel right.

It felt as if I was moving in the wrong direction. I blamed my discomfort on the fact that I couldn’t get the domain name I wanted. But deep down, I knew I was missing the point. I’m not a travel blogger.

Travel is a big part of my life, but what stirs my soul is encouraging other women to write. That’s why I started this blog in the first place. I wanted to inspire writers, provide positive encouragement, and create a supportive community.

A lot of those ideas actually grew into Minerva Rising Press. Consequently, much of my time is spent editing and publishing women writers in our journals and books. But there is still a personal need to reflect on my own writing and life in general.

So what gives? Why haven’t I been able to sustain the work of this blog?

The answer — a lack of self-acceptance and an unwillingness to work in the face of uncertainty.

It’s a challenge to write in such a public forum. There’s a fear that the work isn’t good enough and/or that people will reject it and you (the writer). Or that you will be judged for what you share. You have to learn to be comfortable with uncertainty. The work may or may not be good. And people may or may not like you.

Truth is, neither one matters. Your job as a writer is to learn to do the work.

The work stands alone. It isn’t about what anyone thinks of it or if anyone likes you. It’s about actually doing the work. It’s about the process. And the funny thing is, the more you do work, the better it becomes.

I know I make excuses, good excuses — family, responsibilities, commitments, and grief — not to do the work. I also fear being the writing won’t be very good, and/or no one will actually read it. The finished product ends up being the only thing that’s valued.

When we are called to write, it’s not about what others think or even who will read it. It’s about what the process teaches us. We learn to write by writing. Our failures and mistakes are as essential to our growth as our successes. And you can’t make mistakes if you don’t do the work.

“…all art is about starting again.” —David Bayles &Ted Orland, Art and Fear.

So, I’m back to doing to the work. I hope that as I challenge myself to get back to my desk, you will too.

The Writing Life

Writing on the go

April 12, 2012 confidentwriter4 Comments

I’m on my way to New York to watch my daughter’s chorus perform at Carnegie Hall. So I’m writing this post from 38,000 feet. I figured it would be a good use of my flight time. I usually write in my office with all my writerly things around me. It puts me in the mood. However, I haven’t been able to spend much time in my office because of my travel schedule. It creates a writing dilemma.

My first inclination is not to write. That’s what I did in February and most of March. But then I’d have to deal with the loathing thing writers do to themselves when they don’t write. So the question becomes how do you get the work done on the go?

Here are three suggestions to keep writing when you’re away from your regular routine.

1. Go low tech. Take along a notebook and a pen. Last week, I took a fresh notebook to the beach. I spent every morning sittting on my balcony writing. The new scenario inspired me. Writing in the notebook freed up my need to control the writing. I started a new piece that surprised me.

2. Use your smart phone. For some this is a no-brainer. For others writing on those little devices is less than appealing. However, there are some great journaling apps. I like NoteMaster and MyJournal. Write down quick ideas or write when the opportunity presents itself. It isn’t ideal, but it’s better than losing your flow.

3. Revise. Print pages of your work to take with you. Being away from the computer gives you time to think. Record your thoughts on the page so that when you return to your office you’ll be further along in the process.

I’m not suggesting this will be your best work, but it keeps you writing.