My writing process whilst I'm writing my travel book

I'm currently writing my 2nd book which is my 1st travel book! Yes, I'm taking time to let that sink in and have paid particular attention to those numbers as they mean something mow and in the future. I published my 1st book as an e-book on Kindle in October 2019 using a lot of the posts from this blog and some from my travel blog and it is called 'Being the best you can be' just like this blog and my business. 

All that is written above still feels like a dream at times, it holds so much of what has happened this year and I'm tremendously proud of myself, all I've achieved and all that is yet to come. 

So, as the title says, this is about my writing process whilst writing my travel book. Over 5 days, I shared some of the habits I find essential when I'm writing or being creative. These habits were followed when I was writing 'Being The Best You Can Be' and I wanted to see if they were still relevant for this time of writing or if I needed different ones for a different style of book. 

1) My daily routine always consists of a walk, preferably in the morning straight from breakfast and if not then I'll do it in the middle of my writing day. A walk helps me focus my mind, maybe I've dreamt of something, perhaps I'm not sure of a part of the book or a chapter. A walk also takes me back to a memory of a past walk, a similar scene or completely different landscape. I reconnect with my thoughts & feelings and I put that into my writing.

2) I take a notebook or paper and a pen everywhere with me. I jot down everything as I know that they will disappear if I don't. I also find that when I'm doing any writing whether it's to do with blogging, my dissertation or the books I've written/ am writing, I become more creative in general. So now as well as the paper and pen, I have to also have a piece of paper for different ideas that come to mind that I don't necessarily need right now in this moment. Oh & yes the pen has to be just right!

3) Through being mindful, I allow myself to notice things that catch my eye & will often photograph them. Sometimes, I'll write a story about the image or simply enjoy it as having caught my eye. The image can help prompt my writing if I'm stuck on a part of the book or chapter. One I took the other day was this image in my hotel bedroom. 

4)  MUSIC

Yes I go old school! I travel with my iPod which has years of music on & when writing I will sometimes pick out a particular album or playlist or I'll just find a point & play from there. I've tried other methods but this one is perfect. As an introvert, I really connect with music, instrumental & songs with amazing lyrics which for me will really stand out & stay with me.

If the weather is too bad & I can't get out for a walk then I choose music which will take me on that walk & I'll either close my eyes for a meditation or I'll listen as I'm writing.

As a traveller, there are so many songs which represent either music from a country or music I listened to when I was there so I can be taken right back to that moment in my travels.

5) This I've kept to the end of this section as I understand some may not like the prospect of doing this. As I've said already, when I'm doing something creative or another aspect of writing from writing posts for my blogs, writing up my dissertation or creating in some way, I become more creative. This then comes across in every part of my life in the sense of getting ideas for books, stories, poems etc. So, I record myself in my sleep. Yes you read that correctly! I have always been a talker when I sleep & in addition to this I have the most amazing dreams at this stage of my writing. I used to keep pen and paper next to my bed and I would wake & write down my dream. That worked in some ways but then I found I couldn't get back to sleep. Using a recorder while I sleep allows me to say whatever I've dreamt with as much detail as I can remember & I know nothing is lost as it's being recorded. It works for me!

If you enjoy writing for creative reasons or simply to hear your inner voice and let it come through more then you may be interested in 2 courses I am offering through my business www.beingthebestyoucanbe.org 

The courses are Mindful writing for creativity and Mindful writing for connecting with your inner voice.