An Abundance of Ideas
By Julia Munroe Martin | June 10, 2013 |
If you ever need one or a thousand writing ideas, drive across the country. Seriously. I can tell you it works, because as you read this, I’m on the road—quite literally. In fact, I just finished a 4000-mile road trip, and I’m sitting in a house overlooking the Pacific Ocean, on the opposite coast from where I live in Maine.
You see, my daughter graduated from college last week, and as a gift she asked for a mother-daughter cross-country road trip to her new job in San Francisco. I happily obliged. Mostly because my daughter and I always have a wonderful time on trips like these. But also because I love road trips and I knew it would give me lots of ideas for things to write about…
And I was right. Here are just a few of the things that have sparked story ideas:
- A guy in Las Vegas sitting on a bench right inside a casino entrance—he was sitting there when we entered the casino and he was still sitting there when we left (an hour later), staring at some distant spot on the wall. He looked as though he lost his best friend…or his car…or his house…
- The Noah’s Ark of animals we’ve seen along the way: a coyote, three bald eagles, many hawks, lots of magpies and swallows (and many other birds), several deer, two burros, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, many thousands of cows, many hundreds of sheep, tens of hundreds of horses, and a baby praying mantis.
- Driving through the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains it was 113 degrees with no cell phone service for hundreds of miles, and we saw many abandoned cars. I couldn’t help but wonder what might happen to someone whose car broke down…how would they get help? What would they do if they couldn’t?
- The Blue Earth Rest Area in Minnesota—the name alone sparks the imagination, but the place is a beautiful study in nature, and it made me wonder what would happen if someone actually had a longer-than-one-hour stop at a rest stop? What if someone decided to make their home at a rest area? Maybe the guy from Las Vegas? If I had to live at a rest area, Blue Earth would be a good place to be. And it certainly conjured up some great story ideas.
- Driving through remote areas in the beautiful rugged countryside of South Dakota and Nebraska, made me think about wagon trains going across the country—how much more difficult our trip might have been—and I also couldn’t help but imagine seeing a wagon train or a cowboy on horseback coming over the crest of a craggy mountain, like in the photo I took in Utah. As my daughter an I marveled—how on earth did those wagons make it across—what stories they could tell!
But that’s not all. The characters are endless. In addition to the aforementioned guy, there were many others in Vegas alone, like people gambling in casinos with toddlers in tow or young men who looked like they were on their sixth or seventh beer at nine in the morning. Weary souls in rest areas—where did they come from, how far had they driven? The hotel clerk in Utah who told us about his own cross-country trip memories visiting his father who was estranged from his family, the cowboy in South Dakota driving the muddiest truck I’ve ever seen pulling the rustiest horse trailer, the woman in the rest stop in Wisconsin who almost knocked us over in her haste to get out the door and back to her car—why the rush? The tired waiter at the truck stop in Utah who looked at his wit’s end and issued huge sighs whenever he came to deliver something we ordered…these are only a few of the many people who gave me character ideas.
To make sure I don’t forget things I might want to write about, I’ve been taking lots of photos and making audio recordings with my iPhone. In addition, my daughter and I write down “funny things” that happen along the way—because we wonder if these things would still seem funny when we weren’t on the road, for instance… the French fry we saw on the floor in the hallway of our first hotel—as soon as we saw it we turned to each other and said “breakfast” at the very same time—funny or had-to-be-there?
In addition to the great ideas I’m getting for future fiction, I’m also blogging almost every day. The trip has given me lots to write about, and writing a blog helps seal the memories…there are a lot of them.
Tomorrow there will be even more—because that’s when I start the long drive home, another 4000 or so miles. I fully expect to get even more great ideas as I make my way. I’m telling you: endless—just like the winding road ahead. So, next time you have writer’s block or can’t think of what to write, take my advice and hit the road!
Have you ever been inspired by something you’ve seen while on the road?
Julia Munroe Martin (@jmunroemartin) is a writer and blogger who lives in an old house in southern coastal Maine. Julia’s other passion is photography, and if she’s not writing at the dining room table or a local coffeeshop, you’ll likely find her on the beach or dock taking photos. Julia writes The Empty Nest Can Be Murder mystery series as J. M. Maison.
I love this post! Just reading it makes me want to go on a road trip. My daughter wants the two of us to go to Los Angeles for her sixteenth birthday. After reading this, I’m thinking maybe we’ll drive. :)
My daughter and I took a trip to Paris when she was 15 (we flew that time, haha), and it kind of kicked off our mother-daughter trips. I hope you have a wonderful trip with your daughter, however you do it, Dina!
Next trip I take – road trip or otherwise – I’m going to pay much more attention. As a writer, I usually pay some attention anyway, but I do tend to get caught up in the hoopla – verifying tickets, getting wherever on time, etc. Thanks for the reminder! :)
I think that’s one of the reasons I enjoy driving, Madeline — it really slows down the trip and forces me to really see stuff. For instance, that coyote… just sitting on a hillside in Colorado! Incredible. And when my daughter and I saw a deer chasing a bald eagle, we decided it made the whole trip worthwhile!
I love road trips, although I’ve never done one that far. A year ago, on our annual trip back to my homeland (Canada), on a small highway, we passed a red-haired, very freckly guy driving a pickup truck. His driver’s side window was open and his elbow rested on the door. And this is the best part: he had such lush, thick arm hair that we could see it waving in the breeze.
And I have to follow your blog, because I want to hear how the trip compares now that you’re solo on the way back :-)
What a great story about the arm hair, haha, Natalie! It’s been a lifelong wish, by the way, to drive the trans-Canadian highway. Hope you get a chance to take that long roadtrip, and until you do, I hope you’ll check out my blog posts from this trip!
I so can related to this post! My last book was basically written on a train as I commuted to school, and as I’ve started a graduate program, I’ve switched schools to one that involves a 3 hour commute each way. My attempts to edit have definitely been thrwarted by a new book that seems to take shape in direct proportion to how many miles fly under my feet. I love this post!
That is so cool, Monica! I love the idea of writing on a train. I’ve actually also taken the train across the country, and it was a long time ago, when I wasn’t as focused on writing on the road. But I think I may give it a try — thanks for the idea. Glad you enjoyed the post!
My entire series, GOT, was created during a 20 hour road trip with my kids watching movies in the back seat. The catalyst? ROADKILL. Seriously.
Denise Willson
Author of A Keeper’s Truth
Oh man, after this trip I totally understand getting a book idea from roadkill, so I will definitely be checking out your book. I don’t even want to tell you how many deer we saw along one stretch of highway in Wisconsin. Suffice to say we cheered when we finally saw a live one!
I envy you your road trip; it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and for the reasons you mentioned. It’s a lot different from Maine out there, eh?
Yes, California is very very different than Maine. As I said to my daughter: We’re not in Kansas anymore! I did spend ten years of my childhood in California, so I was prepared, but still, it’s a big change. Hope you’ll get a chance for that road trip!
Dear Julia,
After doing a book pitch which wasn’t very good, the publishers asked me for more. So, I told them what had happened a few weeks earlier while I was just staring out a window.
Our memories bring up things when we least expect it.The book is about my 12 years in China, a memoir. That day, I began writing names and places and thoughts which could take a few sentences or several paragraphs. Before I was finished, I had a list of almost 75 people from my journals, without leafing through them.
These people are being morphed into my memoir.
I am quite happy that you also observe people and write down your thoughts when you travel. They are one of our great resources.
Happy Travels,
Judith Coopy
That’s a cool story, Judith! And you’re right, travels really give lots of memories. I spent three years in Kenya as a child and I’m still having so many good memories that help me with my writing ideas!
I love this post! It reminds me to open my eyes to the abundance of life and detail going on all around me. I don’t actually have to go on a road trip, it’s just easier to notice details when they are new..
The observations in this post are exquisite. I am so inspired!
Thanks, Julia!
Thank you, Kathy! Yes, it’s inspiring, I agree!
Julia, I get many of my best writing ideas when I’m traveling, especially when I’m driving through wide-open spaces in the American West. (I spent 2.5 weeks in southern Utah this spring.)
Hiking alone is also another good source of inspiration.
It is amazing how the wide open spaces inspire ideas, isn’t it?! That area of the southwest is beautiful….but after driving through the remote places, I’m not sure I’m brave enough to hike alone through there. I’ll need to work up to that… but you’re inspiring me!
Yes! My current WIP was inspired by a glimpse of an abandoned house and a street name. I love the idea of gathering characters and traits from people you see or meet in unexpected places.
I love that idea of the empty house inspiring a book idea — I’m very drawn to houses along the way, so I can understand! Cool idea!
Every American should make a drive across the country. It opens your eyes in a lot of ways. My husband and I took along a stack of CDs, listened to one, and never turned on the radio again. There was too much to see and think about and talk about.
There happened to be a wedding at a B&B we stayed at one night, and the bride and groom stayed in the room next door! Another night,we stopped at a B&B in Wyoming, and because the ranch looked a bit derelict as we pulled up, we got to the front door and were afraid to knock. I’ll let all you writers imagine those endings. ;o)
I’ve had *those moments* along the way, too, Carmel! Cool story. And I completely agree that everyone should drive across the country at least once — it’s such a great experience!
[…] I’m not sure exactly which way the open road will take me. As I wrote in my bi-monthly post on Writer Unboxed today—the drive across the country has been one of the best ways I could imagine to spark story ideas, […]
Thank you so much for the inspiration. I do have several memories of family trips I made when I was younger. The most interesting for me was a stop at Old Tuscon Studios just outside of Tuscon, Arizona. The country getting there was gorgeous and I am sure it was used in several westerns that were filmed at Old Tucson Studios. We got to see the High Chaparral ranch. I was a big fan when we went there. Wonderful memories.
I’m heading for Tucson, so thanks for the great ideas! Can’t wait to go there, I’ve never been! Glad to inspire you, too.
It goes to show that a story can start with anything: any scrap, any moment, any place, any face.
It’s all in how you build it.
Now, what is this trip costing you in gas? Years ago I proposed a cross-Canada van trip to my brothers-in-law. They’re all on board. Time to do some serious planning.
This is the third time I’ve driven across the country — and I was really nervous this time because of gas prices. The highest we’ve paid so far is 4.19/gallon! But the whole trip (over 4000 miles so far) has cost less than $400 in gas. I rented a car to make the trip (a necessity because my own car has high mileage), and rented a car that gets 38 miles to the gallon. Someone else I know said it cost him over $1000 because he’s driving an SUV. I’m so glad we went the high mileage way! Hope you have a great trip, and if you are interested, I’d be glad to share some thoughts on great spots to visit!
Julia-
Thanks for the info, that’s less than I imagined.
As to itinerary I mostly wouldn’t want one, just the serendipity of the road. The best stuff is off the interstates, down state roads.
Though I suppose I wouldn’t mind timing a trip to hit a banjo festival, visit some Ozarks potters, see a hawk migration or catch a band on summer tour somewhere where you can actually get tickets.
I totally agree about serendipity and off the interstate travel! I was going to tell you we stumbled on Route 83 through Nebraska and it was one of the most beautiful roads I’ve ever stumbled upon. Great (non) plan, Don!
Great post. I’m originally from Minnesota and grew up just north of Blue Earth, but have never been to the rest stop. I’ll have to take a trip down there next time I’m in the hood.
One of these days I want to hire a winnebago and take my kids cross-country. We live in Germany and they’ve never been to either coast (or not that they can remember) as we only go back to MN to visit family. One of these years….
I love the Winnebago idea and always dreamed of doing that, too! Hope you do it; if you do, I’d love to hear about it. And Blue Earth is such a cool name — glad to meet someone who grew up near there!
I love to people watch. I think it’s human nature and part of the success of Facebook.
I think you’re right… people watching is human nature, and I never connected it with Facebook, but it makes sense!
Wonderful post! I, too, like to observe and write about events and people along the way!
Congrats to your daughter on grad AND a new job!!! :)
Thank you, Patricia! And I’ll pass your congrats on to my daughter! Glad you enjoyed the post!
I can’t wait to see what you make of all these wonderful ideas.
I love the Blue Earth rest area. It’s one of my favorites (and if you are going back that way then it is a hop skip and a jump from my summer theatre gig). When do you head back?
I had no idea we were so close to you, Lisa! Darn it! Isn’t the Blue Earth rest area amazing!? I probably won’t be back in that neck of the woods on the way home, but I head back tomorrow!
I love this, Julia! I remember how inspired I felt when I spent 8 months in Santiago, Chile. I traveled a lot during my time there–LOTS of long bus rides up and down Chile. I was a student then and didn’t consider myself a writer. But I kept long journals and had a lot to say. I could use a trip like that now!
Thanks, Nina! Traveling in Santiago, Chile, sounds amazing! Those bus rides are such an inspiration (I’ve been on similar ones in other countries). It’s good that you kept journals to look back on. And one of these days you’ll be back to traveling!
I’m on the road a good bit, having family and friends who live in other states – and since I work from home as a novelist, guess who has to do most of the traveling? :D – But, I love road trips – and yes, I see things all the time that inspire me for scenes, setting, character. Also, while interstate driving, it frees up my peaheaded brain and sometimes characters will pomp me upside my head.
Las Vegas – actually, I was too overwhelmed to capture any snapshots in my head to use for writing. There was just to much too much too much! It was a strange land. I was even mistaken for a call girl there – um, I’m in my 50s – wth? I was so discombobulated by the noise and lights and just so much EVERYTHING of Vegas, my synapses exploded and I lost it all :D
Yes Las Vegas is overwhelming that way (too weird about the call girl!). My daughter really disliked Las Vegas, so we spent a very short time there… for me it is fascinating to try and figure out the stories behind the people who look troubled or driven to gamble…
I create the driving experience by sitting on a zero-turn mower six hours a week mowing the lawns around my farm. The noise of the mower sets me off into reveries that inevitably end up as notes or scenes or to-dos in the books I’m writing. Only downside is that occasionally I’ll forget to duck and a branch will ding me in the head. But its a small price to pay for all the ideas I get.
Great post. In my twenties and thirties, I hitchhiked over 20,000 miles. In hitchhiking, a filter of creative research is removed. You aren’t just watching situations and people; you rely on them and get into their cars and smell them and eat with them (sometimes, anyway–one business man confessed to being so jealous of my freedom, he bought me the best meal I ‘d had in weeks–and that, after thinking I might die by the side of the road in that little Oregon town, or at least have to register to vote.) You get to listen to their arguments, or to their hatred of all that you represent, or to their skills of negotiating with you or their family members. Sometimes you drive their car for them. Sometimes it feels dangerous. (Sometimes it is dangerous-I survived a forty mile lane-to-lane meander on the I-84 with a driver and her friend who were tripping on something I wanted no part of, something that made the road almost invisible to them. They left me on a freeway bridge with no breakdown lane, IE no place to walk; though until they drove off, it seemed like the wisest option.) Sometimes your ride is fleeing the Law. Sometimes (outside Sacramento) your driver IS the Law. Sometimes they drop you in a place you hoped never to find yourself in. Sometimes you meet a friend for life. It just goes on and on. . . . And now that I think about it, my pleasure in writing my latest manuscript about a fellow who walks halfway around the world draws deeply on my comfort and wonder of being on the road. Research involved 10,000 white-knuckled miles riding taxis, trains, mule carts, buses and the wings of luck through China and Tibet to see, smell, hear and ache the way the protagonist does.
Thanks. I’m getting excited to go somewhere again. . . but, first, I better get started with the day’s writing project.
Tom, I think the guy tripping on I-84 picked me up right after he dropped you off. I’ve had many of the experiences you detail hitchhiking, including having a gun pulled on me by a driver who just wanted to show that there wasn’t going to be any trouble (there wasn’t) and a machete pulled out from under the seat by a different driver who just wanted to make sure that we all understood each other. We did.
I look pretty harmless to me, but I suppose not to other drivers. I’ve had drivers accidentally light their car on fire, weepingly tell me their life story, threaten to kidnap me. One set of twin brothers had stolen the truck in which they picked up me and a bunch of other hitchhikers, driving us 1,200 miles through Canada until the cops stopped us. The truck was filled with runaways, general misfits and eccentrics, two of which, perfect strangers, had sex in the back with at least 10 other people in there as witnesses. Ahh youth.
Julia, thanks for the fun post. It’s been a while since I’ve driven cross-country, but it’s always an eye-opener and a way to tilt the vision of routine into fresh perspective. (By the way, I used to live in Vegas and I know what that guy was staring at: he was looking at the vapor of his last ten-dollar bill, which had floated away at the blackjack tables, like all of mine…)
Yeah, Tom, I had many similar encounters of the third kind. We should talk. In fact I think I was in that truck speeding across Canada. Was it from Vancouver heading towards Ottowa? Were you the guy who kept repeating, ‘I’m harmless, really’? I’m sure you eventually learned that sets all criminals on edge.
Do I get ideas on road trips? Only all the time! The smallest towns are the ones that really fascinate me. When you start looking, it’s incredible how much detail is in every place. Last fall, my husband and I took a trip to the Wyoming Black Hills. He drove, and I sat in the passenger seat journaling and taking photos out the windows. Amazing trip, and I ended up with some good poetry out of it.
Driving from Miami to San Francisco, we stopped as we entered Texas on I-10 at a welcome station. A ranger there asked us where we we headed. We told him SF. “Well, it’s all uphill from here,” he said. Never could figure out if he meant that metaphorically or was just referring to elevation.
Later in the trip we stopped in Ozona, Texas where we encountered deer hunting season and excitement of “Deer Hunting Days in Crockett County.” The town was abuzz with characters of all stripes, all hanging out at the A&W restaurant, giving each other advice and swapping tall tales. A very friendly place.
This is a great post. Thanks for sharing it. One of my plans (I won’t call it a dream because I will achieve it) is that next summer, if my health improves, I will drive across Canada with my cat Jay in tow. And you don’t think I can get a million stories out of that! Thanks for the reminder to keep working towards it because it will be a lot of fun.
Susan,
If your cat Jay is big enough to be towed, you are definitely going to cause a stir. As I remember, some of the jails have decent food, so pack light.
Cute! Will they let Jay in jail with me. Actually he is a Maine Coon and 42 inches from front paw to the end of his back paw. He also has a huge and very fluffy tail of which he is very proud. He currently weighs 17 lbs (no fat) and I walk him most days on a leash and he caused quite a stir until people got used to it. The trip should be the cat’s meow. Sorry. Couldn’t resist that one.
I love the idea of stories about travels with your cat — what a good idea! I hope you do it just so I can read about it! :) And of course I’m quite partial to Maine Coon Cats!
Travel of any kind is good for the soul, even better for the writer. Driving is one of my favorite ways to break through plot tangles.
What a great way to spend mother-daughter time, too. Memories for a lifetime.
Yes, I agree that travel is good for the soul and the writer…I also think it’s a good contemplative way to work through the tough times around saying goodbye to my daughter. And the memories are absolutely priceless of course.
Good advice, Julia.
Drawing inspiration from travels has no time limits. Just last night I wrote a long scene into my WIP based on a trip I took to Germany some 40 years ago. I dug out the journal I kept during that time, and actually found the slides I shot. It works perfectly.
You were so smart to keep a journal! I lived in Kenya as a child and wish I’d kept all my journals that I wrote in while I was there. But alas, I need to count on my faulty memory! I do have photos to help–as you with your slides. Great idea to keep mining the memories, Chris!
I’ve always imagined spending those long hours on a road trip getting some good writing work done. Then I realize that with hubby next to me and the kids in the back that its never going to happen. But I love the idea of collecting ideas to use later.
Yes, getting actual writing done on the roadtrip has been challenging. I too thought I’d do that, but when we got to the end of the day, we ended up collapsing instead :)
I love road trips (and am jealous of the idea-generation you’ve amassed). I always wonder: do non-writers find the same fascination as us writers … do they see a story in every face, wonder about the backstory of an area … If they don’t, I find this rather sad. There’s so much more to see in life when you’re looking at it through a writer’s lens! You have so much fiction fodder; it’s wonderful! And when you’re heading back solo, I suspect your writer’s mind will be even more active.
I love this post … and the French fry breakfast comment made me laugh. I enjoy long road trips with my family. So wonderful that you could share this with your daughter. We moved diagonally across the country two years ago, and it was so much fun. Took lots of pictures and when we stopped for the night, I’d often take some time to write … I love a trusty notebook (the old fashioned kind) and pen.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post, Vijaya! It’s been a fabulous trip love this post … and I’m glad the French fry comment made you laugh :)
Such great advice. You’ve given me the itch, Julia! I love road trips and try to go on a big one every couple of years. I’m due.
It really has been fun, Jessica — and I’ll be hitting the road again first thing in the morning :)
Julia, I always love to follow the sparks of your imagination. You are so good at noticing the details and spinning out a tale from there. Can’t wait to see more of the stories this trip inspires.
Thank you so much, Lisa! I sometimes think my noticing of the details can be a curse… my mind never shuts down! But it does inspire lots of stories! Thank you for your kind words!
[…] much as for the blog—did I have ideas? I mean for writing? That was, after all, one of my goals, I even wrote a post about it for Writer Unboxed. So did it work? The short answer is yes. The longer, more complicated answer is no. What can I […]