Road Trip Creativity

I think I'm a strange creature.  Not in looks (I hope!) but in some of my habits.  It turns out there's nothing like days in a car with little to do but listen to music and watch scenery go by to spark my creative engine.

 (a scene from my last holiday - definitely inspiring)

I wouldn't dream of travelling without my writing journal because this odd experience has happened often enough to me on other trips that I know I should always be ready for it.  On a trip with my sisters a couple of months ago, I chose not to bring my writing journal because I was certain we'd be chatting and laughing so much that I wouldn't have the need to jot down the many ideas that can bombard me when I'm in the car.

Oh my, was I ever wrong!  My sisters can tell you how anxious I became when I realized that I didn't even have my customary little notebook in my purse -- I had cleaned out my purse before we left, thinking that I would prefer to carry a lighter bag.  In my panic I bought the first notebook I saw on one of our stops and then regretted it later when I found something more suitable at a bookstore we visited.  But once I had what I needed I was fine ... and, sure enough, the ideas flowed in the pauses between conversations.

The ideas are rarely directly related to the lyrics of the music I hear or the specific scenery I'm enjoying but there's something about the combination that does get the creative juices bubbling.  It probably helps, too, that apart from those two tasks, there's nothing else to distract my mind and so more energy is available to think and reflect.

So, if I'm to make a career of writing, as I hope to in a small way, I guess I need to be travelling much more.  Not exactly a hardship but it could get a little expensive.  Hmm, I wonder if I could convince Revenue Canada to let me write off vacations as work expenses?