{"id":884,"date":"2012-11-27T15:04:23","date_gmt":"2012-11-27T23:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/?p=884"},"modified":"2013-08-10T20:34:29","modified_gmt":"2013-08-11T03:34:29","slug":"writing-away-stepping-outside-the-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/?p=884","title":{"rendered":"Writing Away: Stepping Outside the Box"},"content":{"rendered":"

The (long overdue)\u00a0second installment of my summary of Writing Away<\/em> by Lavinia Spalding brings us into the creative side of travel journaling.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Chapter 5: Distance Makes the Art Grow Stronger<\/strong><\/p>\n

This chapter is likely a little crazy to many people.\u00a0 It’s all about arts, crafts, and creativity and how to incorporate that into your travel journal.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I can’t see myself carrying around an arts and crafts kit with colored pencils, crayons, paints, etc.\u00a0 I am already a heavy packer and just don’t need the extra stuff.\u00a0 That being said, I do cart around colored (ball point) pens, so maybe that would work as a substitute.\u00a0 One idea I do like is glueing or taping items (business cards, pictures from magazines, museum tickets, etc) into the journal.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I think in some ways a drawing\u00a0can help explain something better than words, but with my lacking artistic abilities, I’m not sure how helpful it will be.<\/p>\n

Chapter 6: Journal to the Center<\/strong><\/p>\n

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. \u00a0The travel journal can be used to slow down and take in everything. \u00a0I found the “Inspirations” section of this chapter to really be the most helpful. \u00a0It seems like it had little to do with the rest of the chapter, but there are some great ideas:<\/p>\n