I’m lucky that I get to travel as much as I do. The world is an amazing place, and stories can be found everywhere. Even odd little facts can form the background to give writing depth.

I’m spending a little bit of time now travelling back halfway around the world. This will be followed by at least a three month spell in one place, doing the actual writing part of my life. Which, truth be told, is my favourite bit. But there is also something really special about that pre-writing phase, where you gather ideas and experiences. You might not always know where they are going to fit into the world you will one day create, but the best ideas hang around in the back of your brain, just waiting for the right moment to turn into something beautiful.

The downside to the travelling is that I tend to fall off the creation bandwagon. I have a very fixed writing routine most of the time, which is not always possible when working with timezone shifts. My self imposed goal of 1,000 words a day is not easy when I don’t have full access to my laptop or the internet. I use Scrivener as it’s a great way to create a story bible for those tales which are complex, so going analogue is only a partial solution for me.

I’m definitely up for experimenting with any tools, tips and tricks that anyone has for keeping myself on track with this. It would be good to have a fool proof system in place before my next trip.

Until then, I’ll just keep gathering ideas…