The final five chapters of Writing Away provide tips for keeping accurate memories tucked inside your journal and tricks for keeping journal-writing fun and exciting.  

Chapter 9: The Sum of Our Misadventures

Spalding continuously emphasizes how important and interesting bad experiences can be.  Sometimes the worst experiences make for the best stories – once you’re able to laugh about it all, of course.  Therefore, be sure to include it all in your journal.  She seems to suggest that you seek out bad experiences, although she reminds you throughout the chapter that it’s not her point.  I remain unconvinced.  However, I will remember to include bad experiences in my journal, rather than trying to forget them (which tends to happen).

Chapter 10: Free Your Mind and the Words Will Follow

Traveling (getting away from the familiar) helps you become a better writer, which is important so that when it comes time to reread the journal years from now, the stories and experiences will be more entertaining and gratifying.  Although travel may supply you with inspiration, you still need to write to improve your writing (of course, but it’s good to be reminded!).  A few key thoughts from this chapter include:

• don’t be discouraged if your writing “sucks” – it happens to all writers and not everything is going to be perfect the first time around.
• avoid overusing clichés, stereotypes, and labels.
• cut down on adjectives such as beautiful, amazing, interesting, etc. and instead explain why something is beautiful, amazing, interesting, etc. (I am guilty of this and it’s something I’m looking forward to working on).
• to help get your mind and hand flowing, start each writing session with a 10-minute “free write” – don’t lift the pen from the paper, don’t edit, don’t stop. 
• try writing in the present tense instead of the past.  This can help bring you closer to the event and what you are describing.

Chapter 11: Tell Me the Truth

Many adults don’t write the whole truth in their journals – maybe they are afraid that it will get lost or that family members will discover the journal and read it in the future.  I can appreciate that.  I’ve left certain things out of a journal because if I wanted to share my thoughts with someone in the future, I wouldn’t want to share that memory with them.  One way to start writing down the truth is to act as though it will never be read.  Lock it up, find a good hiding spot, or destroy it (burn it, throw it in the lake, etc.) – this may help you be more truthful in your writing since it won’t be read by someone.  Traveling can also help unleash the truth in your writing.  It may trigger a memory or open your mind.  Allow it to do both of these things. 

Chapter 12: Having a Great Time, Wish I Were Here

The title refers to a couple of anecdotes Spalding shares about travelers taking pictures and videos to enjoy later, and missing the event that’s happening in front of them.  The rest of the chapter focuses on how technology has changed traveling and how handwritten journals are becoming non-existent.  Spalding urges the traveler to continue to use the handwritten journal while traveling, specifically for private memories and reflections.  Technology also has a place in travel – digital cameras for taking pictures, for example.  However, do not go overboard, photographing every single thing.  Instead, focus on capturing the unusual or bizarre.  And finally, while it’s very easy to stay connected to the internet while traveling, use it sparingly – write shorter emails and share additional stories when you return.  

Chapter 13: Bring It on Home

Wrapping up a journal is something I often have trouble with – I’m usually so far behind and, on top of that, I think of stories and experiences that I forgot to write about.  Spalding suggests that you don’t worry about catching up before finishing.  Write a few words or sentences, or even write a “to-write” list to help remind yourself of what you plan to write about.  This is something I still need (and plan) to do for our Portugal and Spain trip.  I am still kicking myself for not getting anywhere close to finishing our first trip to Europe.  I covered Venice and the first part of Cinque Terre extensively, but kept only minimal notes about Nice and Paris.  I still don’t think it’s too late (over 3 years later) because I remember more now than I will 3 years from now.

And with that, my summary of Writing Away is complete.  Hopefully some of the advice has been helpful for those of you journaling while you travel!

The (long overdue) second installment of my summary of Writing Away by Lavinia Spalding brings us into the creative side of travel journaling.  While I think the first 4 chapters are very helpful for getting started with journaling and motivating yourself to write, they only scratched the surface on the creativity that can be involved with travelogues.  Let me warn you: some of her ideas are definitely “out there,” but I think there are certain takeaways from each of the next 4 chapters that I can use in my travel journaling.

Chapter 5: Distance Makes the Art Grow Stronger

This chapter is likely a little crazy to many people.  It’s all about arts, crafts, and creativity and how to incorporate that into your travel journal.  I’ll be honest, even for me, someone who enjoys DIY and arts and crafts, many of Spalding’s suggestions just aren’t going to happen.  I can’t see myself carrying around an arts and crafts kit with colored pencils, crayons, paints, etc.  I am already a heavy packer and just don’t need the extra stuff.  That being said, I do cart around colored (ball point) pens, so maybe that would work as a substitute.  One idea I do like is glueing or taping items (business cards, pictures from magazines, museum tickets, etc) into the journal.  I definitely try to hold on to all of these things, since I may use them for scrapbooking, but it does seem fun to include more than just writing in the journal.  As far as drawing goes….I’m not even close to being an artist, but my goal for London was to try to draw something.  I think in some ways a drawing can help explain something better than words, but with my lacking artistic abilities, I’m not sure how helpful it will be.

Chapter 6: Journal to the Center

This chapter seemed to be all over the place – a bit about being lost and confused while traveling and then some information on spirituality and finding your center.  The travel journal can be used to slow down and take in everything.  I found the “Inspirations” section of this chapter to really be the most helpful.  It seems like it had little to do with the rest of the chapter, but there are some great ideas:

• Notice something each day that you normally wouldn’t.  Look at ceilings, floors, small details, etc.  
• Choose a subject and write about it in extensive detail. 
• On the other end of the spectrum, write about a scene in a big picture sort of way, skipping the details. 
• Write about something and include what did or didn’t meet your expectations.  If your experience isn’t written down, your mind may play tricks and remember the expectation instead the actual experience (I find this to be true). 

Treat your travel journal like you would an intimate relationship.  Weird? Yes, I think so.  But, the way Spalding explains it makes some sense and I can see how applying some of her ideas will help keep the journaling interesting.  Her advice is to put a lot of attention into it, but continue to shake things up so it doesn’t get boring and stale. 

A few ideas:

• Make lists – they will remind you of where you were and who you were at that time in your life and will bring back memories of that moment.
• Step away from the big picture and write about a specific subject. 
• Self-imposed brevity – 10 words to describe something, haiku, etc.
• Shared journal – switch off writing in the journal with a travel companion (also keep your own)
• Write about anything, even if it’s not conventional.

Chapter 8: Don’t You Forget About Me

As the title suggests, this chapter is about remembering, or not forgetting, experiences, food, quotes, moments, etc. from your travels.  It’s easy to think that you’ll be able to recall all of the details when you return, but this is definitely not the case.  The good news is that simply writing it down will help with the memory.  This can be tough, though, because if you spend too much time focusing on capturing every moment, you will miss the moment.  The key is to take notes.  Bring a smaller notepad with you during the day and use it to scribble a note or two to help you remember when it comes time to journal (focus on the subtle details that you may forget later that night).

I definitely used some of these tips on our trip to London, and plan to continue improving my journal-writing by being artistic, writing about details, writing about the big picture, keeping the journal fun and interesting, and keeping a small notepad with me to jot down notes (other than what we had for lunch or dinner, which is the only thing I’ve used a small notebook for in the past).