How Traveling Affects My Writing in 2025

I just returned from a six-day vacation on the Oregon coast.

My family and I visited the Oregon Zoo, where my two year old got to see some amazing animals and wander through beautiful pathways, following and mimicking the dozens of kindergarteners that happened to be there on t a field trip on the same day.

We visited Cannon Beach, with its clean white sands, large rock structures, and beautiful (COLD) crystal blue waters. We got to play in the sand and chase sparkling white waves as they came and went along the shoreline. 

We visited the Japanese Gardens on a rainy day, which for me was absolutely perfect. We got to wander the paths and read some of the history behind the garden’s origins. We were surrounded by forest and flowers and the sound of water trickling by everywhere we went. We arrived at the Koi ponds right at feeding time, so we got to see these large, majestic looking animals swarm the surface, their glittering, gleaming scales reflecting what sunlight filtered down through the clouds. And let’s not forget the elegant, simple Japanese architecture we found throughout the entire garden. I was so deeply moved by my entire experience that I actually got emotional, and I didn’t want to leave. 

We drove through the city and walked through downtown Portland, where we visited Break Bread and had some delicious sandwiches, cookies, and root beer. 

We then hiked up to Benson Bridge at Multnomah Falls and felt the mist from the large waterfall spray down on us. We got to look out at the scenic view below us. We visited the gift shop and had an ice cream before heading back toward the parking lot. 
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We ended off our trip at a little hidden beach along the Columbia River, watching sailboats and wave runners pass beneath the bridges. The sand at this location wasn’t quite as clean or as light, but in the sunlight, it was in some ways even more beautiful, as it sparkled like there were bits of gold or glitter mixed in along the entire beach. 

As busy as it was (we tried to do something big each day we were out there), it truly was a relaxing experience, and being so surrounded by nature in different environments, I found myself with many deeply reflective moments. 

For me, these moments are everything. Not only because they’re a time for me to really stop and experience things, but also because these reflections spark boatloads of inspiration for my writing. 

Whenever I travel to a new place, I like to do a few things every time: 
1. I like to take lots of pictures. Yes, I take pictures because I want to remember the experience with my family. I take pictures because I want my son to look back at the places we’ve been and be able to see how he felt about each place, what he did, and how much he’s grown. But I also like to take pictures so I can remind myself of how inspired I felt when I was in that location. 
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​2. I like to really stop and observe my surroundings and emerge myself in whatever experience we get into. Whether we’re at the zoo, on the beach, traipsing through a city, driving through the forest, or sitting beneath a beautiful waterfall, I give the world as much attention with all of my senses as I can spare. Doing so allows me tap into the same feeling I get when I’m writing (particularly world building), and inspires some ridiculous creativity that transfers to the page later on. 

Now, during this trip, I didn’t spend much time writing. The writing time I did set aside was used to proofread my next book, so I didn’t get much fresh content on the page. However, I did take the time to jot down some poetry each time we finished our adventuring for the day, and I took some time on a couple of days to journal about our experiences. 

​Although I didn’t spend much time actually writing while we were out there, I still have a renewed sense of excitement and inspiration that I will carry with me through the next few weeks, and I hope to ride the wave while I can. Thank you for reading about our adventure from the past week! I have so much more to share with you, but this post is getting long, so I’ll have to save it for another time. I’d love to know… How does traveling affect your writing?