So. In my last post, I wrote that I was leaving for a trip to Germany and England. I was supposed to be there for 10 days, but thanks to Icelandic volcano evilness, I was there for nearly three weeks.
It wasn’t a complete disaster – my husband and I didn’t have to sleep at the airport like many did – but it was still stressful and a drain on our resources. I did learn a thing or two, though, and even though they don’t directly relate to writing, they could if you squinted hard enough.
Invest in a netbook or find a good, close internet cafe
My husband and I usually bring a laptop when we travel so we can check in and see if our clients/workplaces have an emergency, or so I can work on writing projects if I feel the need. For this trip, we decided that carrying the extra weight across three countries and four airports wouldn’t be worth it. For the first week, we lived blissfully internet-free. Once the volcanic ash crisis hit, though, suddenly we were rebooking tickets, monitoring flights, rebooking tickets again, researching trains and researching boats. The hotels we stayed in charged for internet access, which meant we had to do all these things quickly – which then meant we’d forget things and have to go back later.
I’m not saying a netbook is a must-have for travel (some hotels charge for in-room internet access too). They can be cheaper than a laptop, but it’s still money. However if we’d had one this trip, we would have researched our options easier and reacted to things quicker. Plus, I write better on a computer. I tried to write in a paper notebook, but forgot ideas faster than I could write them. And the thought of carrying a much lighter computer to a coffee shop or library to write in – that doesn’t have any really important files on it – is kind of appealing to me, honestly.
Write everything down
Because I became disillusioned with using a regular, paper notebook, I didn’t write down a lot of story ideas I’d had. I should’ve known better – writers know that there’s nothing like a new experience to inspire hundreds of new stories. Staying in a hotel full of other people stranded by the volcanic ash cloud meant I overheard and participated in dozens of conversations I could have mined for material. I remember the overall themes and moods of the trip, but I missed recording a lot of details that could’ve been used later.
In unpredictable situations, do your best and then enjoy yourself
For my husband and I, the most frustrating thing about the ash cloud was that, obviously, it was unpredictable. This means that we could’ve taken our pick from any number of logical plans that all could’ve worked. Trying to settle on the best thing to do next was stressful, but in the end we decided to stay near Heathrow and keep rebooking our canceled flights, rather than trying to book a ship or take a train to a more southern country. For our situation, it was the best plan. After we made that decision, we promptly stopped watching the news 24/7 and went out and did our best to enjoy London. We’d never planned to be there in the first place, so it felt almost like a spontaneous vacation. It turned out to be pretty fun in the end.
Now we’re home and the past three weeks still seem pretty overwhelming to me. What makes it all funnier is that movers came yesterday to start taking the contents of our apartment to Toronto. My husband and I have just a handful of days left in Calgary before we make the drive across Canada. I’m actually looking forward to it – the volcanic ash crisis made a cross-country move to a familiar city seem like less of a big deal.
And, yes, I will be sure to follow this post’s advice on my trip!
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