✍️ Diary of an Author: The Healing Power of Travel for Writers

You must live life to write about life: secrets of slow-madding, "workcations," and how travel impacts creativity.

Happy Sunday! In today’s newsletter, you’ll learn about…

✍️ How writers can enrich their work through travel

☕️ Why I love “slow-madding” and workcations

😎 What I’ve discovered about creativity and holding tension between where you are now and where you want to go

📖 3-Minute Story: After a Summer of Travel…

After my summer of traveling to Chicago, Barcelona, Valencia, Athens, the island of Milos, and New York City, I feel the lightness of having made delightful memories in many places.

Some people say that travel breaks your body down, but I’ve encountered the opposite: travel has healed me in many different ways.

Physically, my skin’s clearer, I’ve increased my fitness level, and I’ve made big strides in continuing to reverse the autoimmune condition I deal with. All-in-all, I’m healthier and happier than when I embarked on this last leg of travel back in May.

This is in part due to my style of traveling: slow-madding.

You might be familiar with digital nomad-ing, where remote workers travel the world with their earthly belongings in a suitcase and their work on their laptops.

Slow-madding takes that concept and slows it down even further: instead of staying in a place for a week or two, you stay put for a month (or longer!).

With this method of traveling, you’re getting a gym membership in this new city. You’re cooking some meals from your Airbnb. You’re getting to know the locals and the daily heartbeat of a place.

Slow travel allows you to melt into the veins of a city.

In Valencia, we got to know the owner of the empanada shop on the corner of the residential neighborhood we were living in.

In Athens, we were given lessons on the history of Greek coffee and why the Freddo cappuccino is superior.

If you can’t travel to a place for a month, consider taking a “workcation” if you’re able to work remotely for a few weeks. Spend Monday-Friday on your typical schedule, but use mornings, evenings, and weekends as chances to explore a new city or country. See how being outside of your home and routine challenges and changes you.

Us writers must also take time to marinate in places — especially if you want a city to appear in your work with a level of honesty and authenticity.

As the adage goes — you must live life to write about it.

I find myself saying yes to new adventures because I want the story of having done it. I’m going on a 4-day hike to Macchu Picchu this fall even though it’s slightly outside of my comfort zone. I want to make sure I’m truly living life. ✨

There are times to be practical, rational, and strategic. It’s just that a lot of us writers forget that there’s so much more beyond our rich inner lives: the world has so much to offer us.

Creativity thrives off of new information.

If you can’t travel, find other ways to immerse yourself in books about the subject matter you’re writing about. Your curiosity is a powerful guide — follow it.

As 2023 crawls to a close — there are merely 5 months left! — now is a good time to ask yourself:

Are you living a story you’d be happy to tell?

✨ 2 Quotes to Inspire You

• “When you give joy to other people, you get more joy in return. You should give a good thought to happiness that you can give out.”— Eleanor Roosevelt

• “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” — Henry David Thoreau

✍️ 1 Journal Prompt

What extra spice does your writing need? What experiences do you need to seek out in the world to enrich your own creativity? It could be as simple as a walk in nature or as complex as an adventure somewhere new.

Feel free to share your reflections with other Modern Authors in the comments:

💻 New Blog Posts on AmySuto.com

• 4 Lessons From Eat Pray Love: Best Travel Memoir Example

• Working Remotely from Athens, Greece

• Working Remotely from Valencia, Spain

🎙 New Diary of an Author Podcast Episodes

• #42 How to Work with a Writing Partner (and not murder each other!) (6 min)

• #41 Good Books: Being Gritty, Successful, and Working Smart for Writers (3 min)

• #40 Three Tips for Getting Organized and Motivated after a Setback (4 min)

📸 Photo of the Week: High Line Daydreams

The High Line is one of my favorite parks in NYC. I love how the greenery sits alongside towering glass buildings, and this was an ingenious way to use an out-of-commission train track.

Also, I’m finally emerging into post-pandemic fashion (read: not just wearing sweatpants all the time!) and picked up this pair of flared Levi jeans on sale at Aritzia.

Fall fashion weather couldn’t come quicker!

Follow me on X/Twitter or Instagram for more!

⚡️ Upcoming Wednesday Edition: First Steps to Writing Your Book

This Wednesday, Diary of an Author subscribers will get an exclusive issue about…

✨ Pre-writing tips to consider before writing your book.

🧪 I’m about to start writing my new nonfiction book! I’ll break down my process for you on how I approach setting up my book concept and outline.

📚 The difference between personal book projects and commercial book projects. Not every book is going to be a commercial smash hit, and that’s okay. Know your audience and who you’re writing for!

Sending creativity and good writing vibes your way,

-Amy