Little did I know that when I left for a three-day jaunt to Hocking Hills, Ohio with my husband, my son, and our pooch that I’d end up with four articles that I would manage to sell. In short, our two-night excursion to southern Ohio practically paid for itself!
Here’s the point: traveling is extremely stimulating and, if you’re looking for new writing concepts, consider taking a trip. It doesn’t have to be long. If you go to the right place, a one-night stay could provide many lucrative ideas for you to write about.
Now the details.
The first piece I wrote was “New Experiences Can Enrich Your Life.” I sold this to Psych Central. This blog post was about my first foray on a horse, which happened during our trip. My equine was named Kim and she loved to munch grass. Whenever I tried to trot, she veered off the muddy trail, dipped her brown head down and devoured the delicious crisp green stems. Riding her wasn’t easy and, I have to say, I didn’t enjoy the experience, but it was exhilarating. This blog post was humorous and it made a good point – get out there are try something new.
The second piece, entitled “Finding Your Happy Place,” which I also sold to Psych Central, concerned our time communing with nature in the big woods. We went cabin camping and had a wonderful time. The forest was dark. The sun was bright. The hot tub was bubbly, and the warm mist swirled up into chilly air. The hiking trails were world class. I discovered that the cabin was my happy place. In a nutshell, this post encouraged readers to search out a place that calms their spirit and recharges their soul.
The third piece was “Chloe Goes Camping.” Fetch Magazine picked up this article. Since we took the dog, I got some experience camping with a pet.
This article highlighted Chloe’s best moments in the woods, and also gave tips to readers about taking your dog cabin camping.
The final piece that arose out of our camping trip was this piece! “Writers! Need Fresh Material? Take a Vacation!” As you can see, Angela Hoy thought this was worthy of her success column.
Using traveling as a tool to find ideas to write about is a concept that’s been around for a long time. For centuries, writers have been going off to see the world before composing their masterpieces. And travel writers usually make their money off going on “holidays.” Except, for them, it’s work.
That was the beauty of my travel experience. I went just to have fun and the ideas emerged after the fact. I wasn’t setting out to find them. They found me.
Go somewhere interesting and let serendipity do the rest. The ideas will find you.
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Laura Yeager has been writing fiction and nonfiction for over 35 years. A graduate of The Writers’ Workshop at The University of Iowa, Laura teaches online creative writing at Gotham Writers’ Workshop. Laura Yeager is currently looking for an agent for her novel MILLENNIUM RAILROAD.
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Liked the article. I’m headed to Barbados with my whole family. That is my plan, too. A few articles and a book. Get ready Angela.