Writing On The Go

Writing on the go can be a challenge. You don’t have the comfort of your familiar writing space. There’s no handy kitchen for making cups of tea, no cupboard full of snacks and no slow-cooker getting lunch or dinner ready while you become absorbed in your writing.

Over the years I’ve carved out a little nook in my living room which serves as my writing oasis in the midst of the craziness that makes up my weekly schedule. It’s a light, bright space where I keep all my writing accoutrement. It’s where words get put on the page, where I agonise over every punctuation mark, where the delete button gets a frequent pummelling. It’s the first place I head every morning as soon as I have a cup of coffee to hand.

So how do you go about getting that familiar writing nook feeling along with the sense of routine you’ve built up over the years when you’re not at home?

I’ve been writing on the go for several years now. At first, when I was a full time teacher, it was one of the few times I actually got uninterrupted writing time. Now of course I have regular writing days factored into my teaching timetable. But I still relish those moments when I know I can write every day without having to worry about having teaching commitments to fulfil at some point.

The diminishing size of my notebooks

Whenever I do a weekend trip or go away for a little longer I’m sure to be considering writing plans ahead of time. A weekend away usually involves a notebook. I’m talking old school and not electronic here. Luckily I have a large selection of these as people are always giving me notebooks as presents. In the past I used to take along a largish one but now I’ve downsized and stick to a much smaller version. 

My trusty ASUS, notebook and pen

Longer trips used to involve my trusty ASUS Seashell and a USB with my latest WIP. Now however it’s just the ASUS as all my WIPs are stored online. I also keep a back-up of all my docs on a portable hard-drive just in case the internet goes nuts. I have future plans for letting go of the ASUS completely, though the mere thought of this pains me as it’s been such a loyal companion for so long. The plan is to invest in a collapsible keyboard which is compatible with my Kindle. This will be a weight and space saver.

However, that time is not here yet. For now my ASUS and I continue to explore new territory with only an old school notebook and pen serving as aide de camp. After all, when the notebook is completely covered in scrawls there’s still plenty of paper napkins to hand wherever your travels might take you.

How do you write on the go? What’s your go to implement of choice?