creative writing road trip

21 Road Trip Writing Prompts

The article 21 Road Trip Writing Prompts appeared first on The Write Practice .

Summer is the season for road trips. Whether you are on the road yourself or only dreaming of a vacation, today we have some road trip writing prompts to make the time fly. Try one out today!

This prompt was originally posted in June, 2012. Today, I’m traveling overseas and thought a few of you might also be on the road! We’ve added twenty prompts to the original one, but I kept my own practice from 2012 at the end. Enjoy!

Road trips yield great stories. Why? Because a road trip forces you, your family, your friends, or your characters into uncomfortable and new situations. Add to that the potential for various complications and conflict, and you have all the ingredients for a terrific story. 

Whether you want to write the story of a road trip you took, or one you’re planning, or a scene from your work in progress that involves a road trip, you can use the elements of plot to help you. (See our full guide here.)

Start with a character who has a goal, and then let the complications and conflict ensue. Bring their actions to a crescendo of crisis (will they make the best bad choice to get what they want?) and deliver the climax and denouement .

A road trip has a built in external goal: you want to get to your destination, usually in a specific way for a specific purpose. But all those details can get hijacked by internal conflict, car trouble, wild roadside stops, and any other complication you can dream up. Give it a try!

Twenty-one Road Trip Writing Prompts 

• My original prompt was simple: Write about a road trip.

You can still do that one. But here are twenty more to take for a drive. (See what I did there?)

2. A parent and adult child have to take a road trip to sort out important family business. What happens?

3. Two co-workers have to drive to a work event one state away, but the trip goes terribly wrong.

4. A group of college seniors embark on a final road trip before graduation, but at the beginning of the second day, they pick up a hitchhiker who looks a lot like one of their professors who died the year before. 

5. A newlywed couple borrows a travel trailer and sets off on a cross-country roadtrip, when…

6. A young twenty-something trying to get home makes the mistake of stopping at…

7. An older couple has to move closer to family and takes a route that has some unusual memories.

8. A multi-family caravan road trip is derailed when a sink hole drops them into another dimension.

9. A motorcycle road trip through the Rocky Mountains turns deadly when…

10. A photographer sets out to capture pictures of the last five family-owned motels along a historic route when they discover…

11. A child convinces their grandparent to drive a thousand miles to return to a family home, but when they arrive, they are shocked to find…

Ten more road trip prompts for journaling

12. Tell about a time you took a wrong turn on a road trip.

13. Describe your dream road trip. Be sure to include details about the vehicle and riders along with the route and sights along the way. 

14. What was the best thing you ever ate on a road trip? The worst?

15. If you could only take a single route to a single destination for a road trip every summer for the rest of your life, which would it be and why?

16. Describe a time you learned something new on a road trip. 

17. Create your dream road trip playlist. Which artists and albums would you include and why?

18. Write about the characteristics that would describe your worst-case-scenario road trip buddy. (You can approach this either way: the person who would be best in a crisis OR the worst person to ride with.)

19. Find pictures of the open road in your favorite region and describe how it feels to be in that setting. 

20. What is your favorite book or film that includes a road trip and why?

21. Write about your favorite season or time of day to be on the road and describe it. 

For this writing practice, choose one of the prompts above. Set your timer for fifteen minutes . When you finish, post your practice in the Pro Practice Workshop here . 

If  you post, please read and comment on a few posts by other writers. Share the love 🙂 

Here’s my practice from 2012:

We’re driving from California to Georgia this week, my dad and me. The first time since I was sixteen and only spoke six words to him the whole trip. We drove to Big Sur and then to Cambria where we stopped and listened to jazz in a little club along the road. It was the first time I had really listened to jazz. The piano player was blind. He could play well, the whole band could play well, but all I remember is feeling sad and alone and observant.

This time we’re driving to Georgia through New Orleans where we’ll sit in a smoky bar on Canal Street and listen to jazz. We drove through Texas today. Texas is normally a two day state, but for us it’s a three day state. He wants to take it slow and relaxing so we’ll stop in San Antonio and then Houston before making it the Mississippi Delta. I’m impatient to go faster and farther, a flaw of youth I suppose.

In El Paso we ate the worst Texas barbecued brisket either of us have ever had. Me, because it’s the first Texas barbecued brisket I’ve ever had so it was both the best and worst. And he, because it was so dry and tasteless he had to chase it with shots of BBQ sauce just to get it down.

After El Paso we drove along Texas roads so long and flat you stop seeing road entirely and completely disappear into the black asphalt, the golden land, and the blue eternal sky that seems to dissolve the land itself.

The article 21 Road Trip Writing Prompts appeared first on The Write Practice . The Write Practice – Transforming Aspiring Writers into Published Authors

Go to Source Author: Joe Bunting

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Travel Advice

13 travel writing prompts to inspire you.

Use these travel writing prompts, initially created as part of the Wanderlust Writing Challenge, to help inspire your writing, dream up new story ideas, or simply get your creative juices flowing…

Welcome! You’ve landed on Wanderlust ‘s travel writing prompts. Hopefully, you’re sat at your laptop (or have your pen in hand) and are ready to write.

Originally created for the Wanderlust Writing Challenge, these prompts are designed to help you flex your writing muscles. All of them will help you to explore past travels as something to write about, and hopefully spark a few ideas for future stories, articles and journal entries.

Don’t forget to let us know if you’ve used one of our writing prompts. Tell us @wanderlustmag on Twitter , or on Facebook . To find about the Writing Challenge, and when the winners will be announced, head here .

Explore your senses

Nothing like the sight – and sound – of a lion on safari (Shutterstock)

For your first prompt, let’s open up the senses. Write no more than three sentences about one of your favourite destinations. Include all five senses in your description.

What can you see, hear and smell? Was the sun shining, and did you smell crisp, clear fresh air? Were cars whizzing past in a bustling city centre, or were you struck by the wild roar of a lion on safari? What did you eat while you were there – how delicious (or not-so-delicious) did it taste? Did you touch anything – how did it feel?

Save your sentences in a safe place, like a Notes folder or a Word Doc, so you can refer back to them.

Describing people

Practice writing about people (Shutterstock)

Often, our travels involve meeting kind strangers or quirky characters. Before you write about them, it might be easier to describe someone you know. Pick someone you’re close to – be it a travel companion, a friend at home, a family member, etc – and write out 10 words you’d use to describe them.

Think about their personality, the way they walk and talk, their laugh, not just their physical appearance. Now take two or three of those descriptors, and use them in a line or two about the person.

Reflect: Looking back, do you think you chose the best adjectives? Have any others popped into your head today, maybe that would be suited to describing the people you met on the road? Write them down and keep them somewhere you can look back on.

A picture tells 1,000 words

Today’s prompt requires reflecting on travel photographs (Shutterstock)

Whether print or digital, pull out your last (pre-lockdown) travel photo. Take a good long look at it – what’s happening in the shot?

Write a short account of that experience, just before and just after you snapped the photo. As much as you like, but a few lines is more than enough. What was it like? What were you doing? How do you feel about that experience looking back now?

Don’t worry about trying to make it sound ‘fancy’ – instead, imagine you’re recounting the experience to a friend or fellow traveller.

Reflect: Did you find it easier to write when you imagined telling the story to someone? Or harder? It’s great to journal and record travel experiences for yourself, but your entry at the end of the challenge is about writing a story for other people – friends, and fellow travellers – read and enjoy.

Sentence starter

Not sure where to begin? Try this sentence starter (Shutterstock)

As we’ve learned , an engaging first line and paragraph is important for hooking the reader’s attention. Especially when it comes to travel writing. So, h ere’s a sentence starter to get you going.

Try starting a piece of writing with the sentence: Of all the things that could have gone wrong, this could only happen to me. You’ll need to revisit a trip that didn’t quite go to plan to make it work.

Conversations

Inside a market in Fes, Morocco (Shutterstock)

When we’re travelling for ourselves, we don’t often think to make a note of the conversations we have, though professional travel journalists and authors will often take a notebook and note conversations, times, dates and places.

For the latest prompt, try to write up what you remember of an interaction with a local, or a fellow traveller, from any past adventure you’ve been on. Where were you: haggling in a market? Meeting at a restaurant? What do you remember them saying, exactly? Can you only remember the outline of what they said? If so, jot it down.

What was it about? How did they describe things? Did you learn something from the conversation, and if so, how would get that across subtly in your writing, without saying it outright? Imagine how you’d recall the conversation to a friend or colleague, and try to write it that way.

Write as much or as little as you like. Keep your writing somewhere safe, so you can refer back to it.

Highs and lows

Kayaking through Lan Ha Bay? Definitely a high point (Shutterstock)

On any trip, no matter how spectacular, there’ll be high points and low points. You may be ticking off a bucket list adventure, or enjoying one of the world’s great wonders, but nobody is immune to the annoyance of a delayed flight or missing suitcase.

Ups and downs are still part of our travel experience, whether we like it or not. So, decide which trip you’d like to write about (surely, when you think of a ‘low point’, one springs to mind?) and try to take your reader on a short journey, starting with the lowest point.

The purpose? To help you write a knockout ending – with the ‘pay off’ being the absolute highlight of the trip. What went wrong, and how did you get past it? Was it all worth it in the end?

What’s the weather?

A rather angry-looking Sydney lightning storm (Shutterstock)

Picture the worst weather you’ve experienced on your travels: biting cold, stifling heat or endless flurries of rain. How did it feel? Did you get drenched? Maybe it was so severe you had to seek shelter, or find a water supply?

Write as much or as little you like for this prompt, but you must start with a straight-into-the-action description of the weather around you. See where that takes you.

If describing the weather doesn’t come naturally, make an attempt to one instance of pathetic fallacy. It’s a writing technique where you attribute a human emotion or feeling to something in nature, like an animal or, indeed, the weather. Here’s an example: The sandstorm raged on. Often, it mirrors the narrator’s own feelings.

Sentence starter #2

What’s the kindest thing anyone’s ever done for you? (Shutterstock)

No pressure to remember conversations or practice literary techniques for today’s prompt! Phew . Today, we just want to focus on the kindness of strangers, which was also our theme for the Wanderlust Writing Challenge.

Simply begin a short (or long – up to you) piece of writing about your life, leading on from: The kindest thing anyone has ever done for me is…

Reflect: How did this prompt go down? And was your experience connected to travel, or was it something that happened in your home life? We’d love to know, tell us on Twitter , Instagram or Facebook

Pack your bags

Write about packing for a trip (Shutterstock)

Wherever you travel, however you travel, and no matter how long you travel for – packing for your trip is essential. Today’s prompt is all about turning that unavoidable constant into something a bit more creative. It’s simple: write as much or as little as you like about a packing for a recent trip.

Ever packed for a long weekend the night before, and argued with your travel companion about a misplaced passport? Felt overwhelmed by a to-do list for a trek or three-month expedition, and forgotten most everything on it?

How do you feel when you pack: are you calm and excited for the adventure ahead, or do you feel wistful as you come across old plane tickets and paper maps, as you re-pack your trusty travel case? Perhaps you simply hate this part of travel, and want to (comedically) vent your frustration. Put it all down on paper, and see where that takes you.

Sentence starter #3

Where did you last land? Time to tell the story (Shutterstock)

Keeping it simple with another sentence starter. Write as much or as little as you like about a travel experience, following on from: As soon as I landed in…

A seafood barbecue by the Mediterranean Sea (Shutterstock)

Foodie travellers, rejoice! This prompt is for you. Your challenge is to write a few lines, a short paragraph, about a particularly enjoyable foodie experience you’ve had.

A region or country’s cuisine is part of its culture, and for lots of us, a big part of our travel experience. So, aim for lots of vivid detail: what were your surroundings? Was it made by a local chef? What did you eat? What ingredients could you taste?

Was when you ate it important (say, after a challenging hike), and how did it make you feel? And important, did you dare to try the national tipple after your meal?

The Simien Mountains in Ethiopia (Shutterstock)

Describe the most breathtaking, awe-inspiring landscape you’ve ever witnessed, putting our travel writing tips into practice.

Don’t fall into the trap of over-fluffing your descriptions, with fancy words you’d never use in daily life. At the same time, make a real effort to avoid these all-too-common travel writing phrases . Time to stretch your vocabulary. Write as much or as little as you like, but aim for at least a few lines.

Reading your work

An Arctic village. Will you describe the people, the food, the landscape – or all three? (Shutterstock)

Your writing prompt today isn’t about writing. It’s about reading, which is incredibly important if you want to be a travel writer. Not just the work of others, but your own work, too.

Firstly, give yourself a pat on the back if you’re here and you’ve used some of these prompts – challenging yourself to write when you’re just starting out or are starved for inspiration isn’t easy!

Secondly, read through what you’ve written based on these prompts. Choose your favourite piece of writing and continue it – write the full story, flesh it out and see where it takes you. Enjoy.

P.S. Do let us know if you would like us to keep updating this article with more prompts. W e always love to hear from you at [email protected].

More travel writing inspiration to enjoy:, how to describe people in your travel writing, 10 classic (and expert) writing tips for travel articles.

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31 Travel Journal Prompts + Creative Travel Journal Ideas

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Looking for travel journal prompts and creative travel journal ideas ?

Then you’re in the right place! 

Especially right now as travel is limited and people are searching for ways to travel at home, such as through relaxing staycations , keeping a travel journal can be a great way to relive your favorite trip memories. 

Moreover, it can keep travel alive, allow you to explore the world from home, and help you stay curious. 

Keep reading for a list of fun journal writing prompts related to travel as well as tips for creating something tangible that truly helps you feel inspired. 

Table of Contents

Downloadable Travel Journal PDF

Before we dive into the post, though, I want to offer you the chance to grab my free printable travel journal . 

The trip journal includes 56 prompts in total. 

This inspiring printable and fillable journal is great for exercising your creativity while traveling from home as you remember your favorite trips. 

Grab it, and then feel free to message me on Instagram ( @jessieonajourney ) to let me know which travel journal writing prompts were your favorite and why.

I plan to update the journal in the future — and you’ll get any revisions I make — so your feedback is appreciated!

What Is A Travel Journal?

A travel journal is a place where you can document your trip memories, whether you’re spending 7 days in Cancun , going on a solo USA road trip , off completing the world’s best hiking trails , or something else.

These can be paper or digital, bound or looseleaf, thin or thick. And— when it comes to how to write in a travel journal — it can include just text or a variety of mediums.

The point is, it offers a way to record what happens to you on the road — though you’re welcome to take your entries and give them a fictional twist for fun! 

Choosing Your Travel Journal

I may be a little biased, but if you’re looking for the best travel journal with prompts, I recommend grabbing my free printable journal here . 

Because I made it fillable, you can also use it as a travel journal online!

Additionally, there are loads of inspiring options online if you’d prefer to purchase one. On Amazon, I love this vegan leather option as well as this mindful travel journal .

Creative Travel Journal Ideas

Wondering how to be creative in your journal?

First of all, remember that a journal doesn’t just have to be writing. Use markers, paints, stickers, glitter, and even momentos from your travels to really bring the text to life. 

Of course, don’t forget about travel-themed accents, too, like stamps, tickets, postcards, and maps — you can even cut out sections of a map to showcase your favorite destinations. 

If you’re artistic, you might also consider bullet journaling and other techniques to make your journal more visual. 

In terms of keeping your travel writing fresh, having details to pull from can be a huge help.

When possible, try to experience a place with all five senses so you have more to draw from later. I personally like to take notes right after any experience I think I may write about later. 

Keep in mind, being fully present in this way is also just an overall healthy practice. 

If you’re having trouble remembering details, try to sit in silence and do a visualization. Personally, when I do this exercise I aim to not only see myself in a place, but to put myself back in the place so that I am seeing the scene through my own eyes. 

Feeling writer’s block?

Sometimes all that it takes is a change of scenery to get inspired again. Try going for a walk or trying a new cafe to see if that helps.

If not, put the journal away, give yourself some mental space, and pick it back up tomorrow. 

And if you’re proud of what you’ve written, feel free to post it on social media, share it in an email with friends or, of course, keep it to yourself. 

How To Keep A Travel Journal: Quick Tips 

As an avid journaler myself, these are some of my personal tips for having fun, feeling creative, and staying inspired while writing.

As with travel tips and trip styles, everyone has their own process when it comes to journaling, and something that works for me may not work for you. Feel free to try out this advice, keep what works, and let go of what doesn’t.

Overall, the goal is that you get something beneficial out of these pages.

Tip #1: Journal when you feel most creative.

For instance, you might choose some mindful ways to start your day and have completing daily journal prompts be one of your morning rituals. 

However, if you find you feel more creative in the afternoon or evening, plan your writing for then.

Tip #2: Don’t edit as you write.

Allow your first draft to be all about getting your ideas and thoughts down onto the paper and getting into a creative flow state.

You can always tweak things later.

Tip #3: Remember the power of lists.

This is one of my favorite trip journal ideas!

Writing in lists can be helpful when you’re:

• having trouble getting started
• wondering what things to put in a travel journal
• feeling like your sentences just aren’t flowing together

This way, you can at least get your ideas down and edit them together in a cohesive manner later on.

Tip #4: Write stories.

While this isn’t mandatory, those who are curious how to write a travel journal that’s worth reading should consider writing your thoughts as stories instead of in a stream-of-conscious fashion. 

To write a story, make sure you have a beginning, middle, and end. Actually, if you really want to do it right, you should also consider character, plot, setting, and tension.

For a lesson in storytelling, make sure to check out this video on how to improve your creative storytelling skills for more engaging writing:

Tip #5: Go beyond text.

Wondering what to put in a travel journal?

Realize there is no right or wrong answer to this question!

Keep it text-based, or add paintings, drawings, stickers, momentos from your trip, and more. 

Personally, I’ve started writing out my journal entries and then drawing them to add some additional creativity and really bring the pages to life. 

The Best Travel Journal Apps

Prefer a digital journal option over paper? 

There is an app for that! 

I’ve talked about my favorite travel safety apps before, but here are a few of my favorite apps for keeping a travel journal:

Travel Diaries .  This free app allows you to create both public and private journals. The layouts are customizable, and you can easily add text, photos, and even maps. 

One really neat feature of this app:

You can turn your travel diary into a physical creation to be shipped to your home!

Day One Journal . This is another great travel journal app that makes it simple to record your memories using photos, videos, drawings, and even audio recordings. 

The “On This Day” feature allows you to go back in time to revisit your favorite trip moments, while automatic backups ensure your content never gets lost. 

Unique app feature:

You can handwrite in your journal using your finger or Apple Pencil. 

This travel app has both free and paid premium versions. 

Polarsteps . Dubbed “the personal travel log in your pocket,” Polarsteps is an app that helps you plan your trips as well as record them along the way in a visually-appealing manner.

In fact, this app puts an emphasis on adding experiences to maps and using video to document, so you can really bring your trips back to life later on. 

A feature I love:

You can turn your travel memories into a stunning hardcover book to keep!

Unique Travel Journal Examples

Looking for some travel journal inspiration?

Here are some mood boards with journal examples to help get your creative juices flowing.

These are also helpful if you’re wanting to learn how to make a travel journal.

By the way:

Check out the bottom right photo in the top collage if you’re looking for travel journal layout ideas.

Travel Writing Prompts – Quick Picker 

If you’re like me and often feel indecisive when choosing a prompt, I’ve got a fun little tool that can help:

The above video moves through the list of writing prompts quickly.

To use it as a quick picker, press play, turn your gaze down, and then stop the video at a random moment.

Then, voilà , you’ve got your travel writing prompt chosen for you! 

31 Travel Journal Prompts

Whether you’re physically traveling or at home dreaming of the road, use these travel prompts for your journal.

I love these prompts for when I’m feeling stuck and am searching for things to write in a travel journal:

1. Remember a time when you met people while traveling that felt like family. Describe your time with them in great detail.

2. Write a postcard to a friend from a place you’ve loved visiting.

3. Think about a problem that exists in travel. Now, invent a solution to the problem. Hey, could this journal help you come up with your next million-dollar idea?

4. If you could go on a trip with anyone, dead or alive, who would you go with? Where would you go and what would you do?

5. Share a time you were lost or that you lost something while traveling. 

6. How has travel changed or shaped you? Note: This is one of my favorite self-discovery journal prompts!

7. Start your travel story with the following: “It was a dark and stormy night…”

8. What is the first vacation memory that comes to mind? Come up with your memory in 10 seconds or less!

9. Think back to the most beautiful place you’ve ever been to. Now, describe it using all five senses.

10. Write about a multi-destination trip — from the perspective of your backpack.

11. What is a sticky situation you’ve gotten out of on the road? Hint: Allow this to also be a reminder of your strength!

12. What is a fear you’ve overcome while traveling? How?

13. Take your story from the previous prompt about overcoming a fear while traveling and rewrite it from the perspective of an onlooker.

14. What has been your craziest transportation experience?

15. Write a review of the best hotel you’ve ever stayed in.

16. Write a review of the worst hotel you’ve ever stayed in using humor.

17. Write a letter of gratitude to someone who showed you an act of kindness on the road .

18. Write about the last trip you took — from the perspective of yourself in the year 2600.

19. Write about a hike you loved doing using all five senses.

20. “Travel makes me feel _____.” Why?

21. Write about a trip you took last year from the perspective of your favorite book or movie character.

22. What is the biggest lesson that travel has taught you? Share a story that brings this to life.

23. Pretend that you were given an extra day on a trip you loved. What would that day have looked like?

24. Choose a trip you haven’t written about yet. Now choose a different time period, and write about the trip as if it happened in that time period.

25. In your opinion, what is the biggest misconception about travel?

26. Think back to an interesting conversation you’ve had while traveling and begin your story with that dialogue.

27. Transport yourself to a beautiful beach you’ve visited. Suddenly, a message in a bottle washes up onto the shore. What does it say? How do you react?

28. Here is a road trip journal idea! Write about a road trip you went on, but have someone else from the trip be the narrator. Hint: If you traveled solo, have the car or an onlooker be the narrator.

29. Think of a time you went on a trip that took you out of your comfort zone. Write the end of the story, then the middle, then the beginning.

30. What is one piece of advice you’ve been told by a local while traveling? Have you applied it to your life? Why/why not?

31. If you were to write a travel memoir, what would the first chapter look like?

Bonus: Pair Your Journal Prompts With Self-Care

In my opinion, the best way to enjoy time spent journaling is by pairing it with other self-care activities.

In the video above, I share my top 10 favorite self-care tips and rituals for travelers — though they can also be enjoyed at home!

My recommendation:

Make a day of it! Use the journal prompts and the self-care rituals to create your own DIY retreat .

Want more travel-themed prompts?

Don’t forget to grab my free downloadable Inspired Storyteller Travel Journal — featuring inspiring quotes, writing tips, and 56 fun prompts to help you recount your favorite trip memories and write creatively. 

Do you have any travel journal prompts to add?

What are your favorite creative travel journal ideas.

Related posts:

About Jessie Festa

Jessie Festa is a New York-based travel content creator who is passionate about empowering her audience to experience new places and live a life of adventure. She is the founder of the solo female travel blog, Jessie on a Journey, and is editor-in-chief of Epicure & Culture , an online conscious tourism magazine. Along with writing, Jessie is a professional photographer and is the owner of NYC Photo Journeys , which offers New York photo tours, photo shoots, and wedding photography. Her work has appeared in publications like USA Today, CNN, Business Insider, Thrillist, and WestJet Magazine.

Hi, I’m Jessie on a journey!

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These prompts are just the inspiration I needed to capture my thoughts about travel. Not only do they tap into my travel memories, but they feed my creative spirit. Who says you have to actually go anywhere to be well-traveled? 😉

I have trouble keeping a journal, but have always want too – these are such good prompts ill have to give it another try!

Wow, what an incredible article! I’m so grateful to have come across this treasure trove of travel journal prompts and ideas. The suggestions provided here are truly inspiring and have sparked my wanderlust even more. From capturing the sensory details to reflecting on personal growth, these prompts cover every aspect of a fulfilling travel journal. The beautiful descriptions and practical tips have motivated me to start documenting my adventures with a renewed passion. Thank you for sharing such a valuable resource that will undoubtedly enhance my future travel experiences. Keep up the fantastic work!

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The Only 10 Creative Writing Prompts You Need

by Joe Bunting | 55 comments

You get better at any skill through practice. Prompts are a great way to practice writing (as you might imagine, we're really into practice here), and in this post, I have ten of our best creative writing prompts.

Try a few out, and if you're ready to take the next step in your writing, check out our 100 Best Short Story Ideas .

How To Use These Creative Writing Prompts

At the end of every article on The Write Practice , we include a writing prompt so you can put what you just learned to use immediately. And we invite you to share your writing with our community so you can get feedback on your work.

The Write Practice is more than just a writing blog. It's a writing  workbook , and we think it's the best one on the Internet (of course, we're a bit biased).

One of the most important parts of practice is getting feedback, and we want to help YOU get feedback on your writing. To do that, choose one of the prompts, write for 15 minutes, and then copy and paste your practice into the box at the bottom to post your practice in our forum for feedback. You'll be able to read others' practice and give feedback too.

And if you want even more prompts, you can download our workbook,  14 Prompts , for free here (it's normally, $5.99).

Our Most Popular Creative Writing Prompts

Why not try using two or three of these creative writing prompts in your writing today? Who knows, you might even begin something that becomes your next novel to write or short story. It's happened to Write Practicers before!

Enjoy the writing prompts!

My 3 Favorite Writing Prompts

Write about a time you felt out of place, awkward, and uncomfortable. Try not to focus on your feelings, but project your feelings onto the things around you.

Write about a ghost. How do they feel about the world? What do they see and hear? How did they become a ghost?

• Your characters haven’t gotten any sleep. Write about why, and how they respond to being sleepless.

Now, let's look at the rest of our favorite prompts! 

1. Grandfathers

Write about a grandfather, maybe your grandfather or your character's grandfather. What memories do you/does your character associate with him?

See the prompt: Grandfathers

2. Sleepless

Your characters haven’t gotten any sleep. Write about it.

See the prompt: Sleepless

3. Out of Place

See the prompt: Out of Place

Write about longing. How does it feel to go about a normal day when your character wants something else?

See the prompt: Longing

5. Write About Yourself

Write about yourself.

See the writing prompt: Write About Yourself

See the prompt: 3 Reasons to Write About Ghosts

7. Road Trip

Write about a road trip. Is your character escaping something? Is your character looking for something? Hint at the thing without telling us while describing what the character sees.

See the writing prompt: Road Trip

Write about the morning. What are your character's morning routines? What is special about this  morning?

See the prompt: Morning

9. The Beach

Write about the beach. Is your character reflecting on something important that has happened to them? Describe the memory while overlaying the sights, sounds, and smells of the beach onto them.

See the prompt: The Beach

Write about autumn. Natural surroundings can bring up old memories and odd feelings. Describe what your character sees, feels, and most of all does.

See the prompt: Autumn

Do you use writing prompts in your writing? What is your favorite prompt for ideas? Share in the comments .

For today's practice, choose one of these prompts and write for fifteen minutes . When you're finished with your practice, share it in the Pro Practice Workshop . Don't forget to leave feedback for three other writers. Not a community member yet? Join us ! 

Happy writing!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

55 Comments

It usually takes the living to confirm you’re dead. That’s why Saginaw didn’t know for months he’d passed. He was a hermit, had lived alone out in the woods for years. He still isn’t sure how or when he died.

After it happened, he continued to get up every morning and head out to the woodpile. Chopping was his release, his balance, his yoga. The repetitive grabbing and swinging and cracking and discarding brought him harmony.

Until the day he realized nothing was happening.

Like every other morning, he grabbed for the axe handle. This time, he noticed his hand passed right through it.

“What the hell?” he said to himself.

He looked down and saw the log cabin through his body, and knew he was dead. Thinking back, he realized he’d probably been dead for awhile. The familiar weight of the axe was a distant memory. He’d been grabbing and swinging and cracking and discarding nothing. He was going through the motions because they brought him peace.

Saginaw wasn’t sure what a ghost was supposed to do with his free time. He tried strolling through the woods and watching animals. They never spooked like he expected. It was boring.

Within days, he realized how much he missed his chopping. He returned home and tried doing it like a mime – empty hand reaching up and striking down on nothing. But now it made him feel useless.

According to the books he’d read during his life, the dead had the ability to interact with the real world. He practiced, trying to control things with his translucent body. He found that he could create a type of wind with his movements. Grass would sway as he ran by and dandelions would shed their cotton if he swooshed his hand over them.

That was the most he could do; wind would never carry his axe. Ghosts couldn’t shed tears but it didn’t stop Saginaw from crying.

He cried until he was angry. In a rage, he jumped up and, growling, grabbed the axe. It flew up with his hands.

“Oh my God!”

His anger vanished and the axe slipped through his fingers. He tried picking it up again, but it refused. Saginaw grew furious at his futility and kicked at the handle. His foot caught the wood and Saginaw realized what was happening.

His raw anger fueled the power to move objects. The only way to do what calmed him was to lose his calm. A total catch-22.

Sag fell to the ground. He’d never thought much about the afterlife. Glancing at the axe, he wondered, as dread lit fire to his insides, exactly where he was.

I like this piece a lot. It’s like a little story. That line, “Chopping was his release, his balance, his yoga.” is very telling, the yoga bit completing it beautifully. Thanks for sharing.

An interesting take on life after death. What is it? Even when dead, the dead don’t know. A question to be never answered. Adelaide

Brilliant post. I love just starting with a prompt and letting my muse find her way. I could pick any one of these starters and write a series of short pieces. And then voile I have a mini collection to create into a mini e-book. Wow. You’ve just experienced my ‘light-bulb’ moment. I now have an idea for some free giveaways to my potential readers.

After a couple of weeks of dull creative urge, this post has just put a surge of creative current back in my circuit. Thank goodness for that. Thanks Joe for the inspiration.

Thanks so much, Dawn. So glad this got your creative juices flowing! 🙂

I’m book marking this page, what a great post.

Here’s what I wrote.

The beach is empty. On a beautiful, perfect day, with a sky of crystal blue, the beach is empty. You can hear the surf slap against the sand, and the cry of gulls overhead. The white, fine sand stretches before you, so bright you have to squint against it. The day is hot, but not sweltering, and you marvel at the privilege of having the beach all to yourself. There is nothing here but, you, the gulls and the sound of the waves. The coconut smell of the lotion you are applying, the red of the beach towel laid down. You wonder if you should have brought a book, if you ought have left the ipod in the car, but then you sit down, watch the waves ebb and tide against the wet sand, and let the song of the sea lull you. A fleeting thought of awe wanders into your mind, at the quiet, extraordinary way that nature has, going on without human observation. The sea will always lap against the shore. The gulls will nest in the brush and seek their dinner from the sea. Even the fish, unseen, will make their homes and hatch eggs, all without anyone watching. It all continues without human eyes upon them, and it is marvellous. And then, in a moment like this, a perfect bubble in time, you might be allowed to witness it. Watch the gull walk along the rocks, its black shiny eye on you, watch the rhythmical way the waves roll and turn. See the crab burrow out from the sand, crawling along the shore.

And then in an instance, the bubble is broken. The moment shattered as the high voice of a child comes laughing into the sand. A couple follows close behind, their voices low. They make their place a distance away from you, but it is too late. The moment of grace with nature is over, the human world has once again inserted itself and the beach is no longer empty.

I love the beach. And I totally appreciate those moments/ times of immersion into the whole wonder of life at lands edge.

And then being slapped back into the moment by the sound and presence of humans.

Nice writing. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the feedback.

I loved this piece! Your wonderful word choice and clever phrasing helped to create a very vivid image of this gem of a beach, in my mind. It really sucked me in, so much so that I couldn’t help but feel a sharp twinge of sadness and disappointment when the human presence disrupted it all and popped the “perfect bubble in time”. Thank you for sharing such a lovely piece.

Thank you Catherine! That certainly is encouraging, and I appreciate the feedback.

You’re very welcome! I’m glad I could be of some help. Best of luck in all your writing endeavors!

No idea if you will find this a year later.

I was reading this and at first I was like thinking. I have read this before. Crystal blue sky. Generic.

And then I hit the line, “you ought have left the ipod in the car”. And it suddenly became personal.

In Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, the author talks about how children draw symbols. You say draw a person and they draw a stick figure. For an adult it is generic. They don’t actually look at what they are drawing.

The first part of that you write is like that and then suddenly small details, personal details, start to appear and the piece becomes much more powerful. In my opinion you drop out of the generic symbols of a beach and into your personal subjective view point, and the writing gets much better. More visceral.

For me I would encourage you to go back and either drop or rewrite all the generic parts like crystal blue sky, which sounds symbolic, to something personal.

I love this…..

I picked beach.

Soft morning mist Gently rises to kiss Fan of dawn’s rays And slicing through silky southern teal Nullakai’s finger, long dark green Invites me in. Briney effervescence clings To salty diamond necklace Criss-crossing my Summer freckled chest And aquamarine mesmerised My sleepy sea stained eyes Sting to a blur As swollen turquoise curve Breaks this office face Drowning the frown Before it begins I am fresh again fresh This Monday morning.

I’ve been intending to post a comment, but I don’t know much about blank verse or any other poetry other than Japanese short-form poetry such as haiku. What I notice about this poem is that some of the lines read awkwardly because of the lack of an article: a .

“Fan of dawn’s rays,” I think would read better if it were “A fan of dawn’s rays.” Same with “To salty diamond necklace” which would be better as “To a salty diamond necklace.” Again, a missing “a” with “As swollen turquoise curve.” Also, I don’t understand “And aquamarine mesmerised.” .

Otherwise, it’s a beautiful scene and a wonderful way to greet a Monday morning. Adelaide

Thanks Adelaide. Great feedback. Aquamarine should have been two words – aqua marine. I guess I was trying to imply ocean water in a sparklier, gem like way, and taking poetic licence/ freedom by playing with the two words.

Much appreciated. Dawn 🙂

… And I picked ‘morning’.

Dewey pearls lace the graceful dance of understory and spider webs weep fine filaments between sleeping boughs and awakening flowers. In hushed light creamy tones, sun softly shines awake dancing through curls of morning mist. And my body slips into the day, barefoot upon the forest floor.

Early birds sing through the dawning light, their excitement bouncing from leaf to branch. They pause to consider my gaze then flutter on their busy way.

This flesh of mine in autumn beige seeks a deeper walk, into the maze of awakening trees with liquorice trunks black and damp with dew.

Only the forest is talking; the world is yet to yawn and stretch it’s sleepy limbs out of night warmed sheets. I am alone in full company of the promise of a new day.

Strings of purple Hovea buds embrace my passing by, an ephemeral bracelet for one tiny moment, and leave a trace of sparkling silver pearls moist across my wrist. This freshness I bring to my lips. This gift I gently kiss. And I love myself awake.

This sort of reads like a poem, in fact a re-read proves it is! I almost missed that, I was reading too fast. Thank you for sharing.

Hi Giulia It was just a quick 15 minute muse, but yes, now that you’ve pointed it out it does read like poetry. Thanks for that feedback, I can have a play with it and offer it some shape.

Did you like it? Or was it a bit to poetic and slow? I’d appreciate your feedback. Thanks Dawn

Oh, I did like it! I think the structure shape of the poem needs a bit of polish, it might read more smoothly if the lines were shorter. I actually like the languid feel it has, it expresses morning and nature well, how everything seems expanded and slower when you’re really looking at the tiny marvels found in the natural world.

Grandfather.

He’s not a grandfather and I’m terrified he won’t become one. He’s be a great one. I’m positive.

I really shouldn’t be afraid of hospitals. I grew up in one–Dad’s a doctor. I’m familiar with the tile floors and nurses knowing my name and my nickname. But now I’m afraid. He’s not in scrubs but instead in a gown. A nasty butterfly needle is digging into his skin. They always say it’s a small needle and won’t hurt. Don’t believe them. I’ve had nightmares about this. About driving from Mississippi back home because he’s had a heart attack. He’s never had any heart problems so that fear should be irrational. I should have been praying a seemingly ridiculous prayer. It’s a good thing I was praying even though I didn’t know why. Unknown prayer saved his life. As I sat with him on the hospital bed I felt so strange. I felt 7 and still desperately needing my dad. I can’t do anything without him. I don’t know how to be me without him. At the same time I felt grief for my future children. If he’s not better then those make believe kids will only have my stories to go on. They’d never believe me when I told them their grandfather was the greatest man to ever live.

My brothers have stories. Absolutely hilarious stories of my dad that they both recounted on the way to the hospital room. As they did I realized I don’t have stories. I have facts, subjects, events. I have moments.

-Reading Harry Potter together and standing in line for each book release.

-Agatha Christie -Keeping Up Appearances -“I think I’ll go pay that bill.” “You know what I think you should do?” “What?” “Go pay that bill.” “Oh my gosh you’re brilliant!” -We are both left handed.

-How to swing a bat.

-How to replace a door.

-How to drive.

-Telling me his “M.D.” stood for “My Daddy.” -His Martin acoustic guitar -The smell of cedar wood and rain when he made duck calls in the basement.

I don’t have hilarious stories of my dad I just have a lot of lessons. He taught me in every moment we spent together. Those moments were hilarious but I don’t think I could recreate them to become stories.

I want him to be a grandfather because I didn’t know mine. He has to show my children how amazing he is because how could I possibly put that into words? He’s my very best friend. He thinks I can do absolutely anything. I know that I can because a quick phone call to him clears up any questions.

He always has the answers.

I need him to be a grandfather because I need him to keep being my dad.

That was wonderful, simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking. I love it

Thank you!!!

A warm tribute to your father. I hope he got well. adelaide

I really love this piece.

I chose morning as it was a few weeks ago up here in upstate NY.

FROM MY WINDOW

Spring is gearing up. At the far end of the front yard, where it rises to meet the road, crocus splash yellow, white and purple. Stems on the lilac bushes are knobby with green tipped leaf buds. Daffodils, some just poking through the soil, some already at their full height with swollen flower buds ready to burst. Through the open window the breeze is damp,ripe with the fragrance of wet dirt, last year’s leaves and manure from the field around the bend. There are busy calls from unseen birds and announcing honks from another gaggle of geese. There is, in this moment, everything that there is.

coffee brewing the anticipation before the first sip

Lovely. I can almost feel myself standing beside you at the window. Great use of all the senses Adelaide. Thanks for sharing. Dawn

This post is in response to OUT OF PLACE

A sorority beach house. Full of surging hormones and testosterone from the young women and the visiting frat boys who have a house down the road. Some girls have wandered there to see what’s going on. Most likely the same things that are going on here.

It’s Easter Break at Laguna Beach. A week of fun, fun, fun! For some. For most. But not for the dark haired girl trying to play poker with two other girls and three guys. Trying to play because she is new at the game and loses every hand. She also loses at the witty, sexually laced repartee between the other five players. After four games and down to her last 10 pennies, she quits. It is not for her this game. The entire experience is not for her. She looks over the party goers. Beer, kisses and gropes are exchanged in corners. What goes on in the closed bedrooms is better not seen.

She takes a beer, her first, and her cigarettes and goes out to the beach. This is what she came for: the beach, swimming during the day, reading what she didn’t have time for when crushed with class assignments, girl talk with a few friends. Even that is a disappointment as the girl talk usually turns to boys, a topic which is foreign to her experience.

She’ll lie when she goes back to her classes. She’ll say the week was fun, a blast. Yeah. Partying every night. At least, she’ll have a tan to prove she was there.

Lovely demonstration of the odd teen, who out of place cannot even bare to bow to peer pressure. I liked the ending where she decided to lie to fit in.

Can you please tell me what a ‘sorority’ house is exactly. (I’m not from the USA.)

Thanks for sharing Dawn

Many colleges have sororities, a club of sorts to which candidates are invited to be a member. In some colleges they can be very snobbish, at least that was the situation when I was in college. My college, a small woman’s college, was more democratic, in that a student chose the soriety she wanted and was accepted in it. There was no voting on who could come in and who could not. Bigger colleges have special housing for sororities and fraternities (the male equvilent of sororities).I don’t know what other sororities did, but the ones at my college, in addition to organizing teas, parties, picnics, etc., had a commitment to do some social work for the community. Being a Catholic college we gave Catechism lessons to young childdren in poor parishes where there was a shortage of teachers to give these lessons after school

A sororiety beach house is just that: a house at the beach which the sorority rents for a time, the rent being paid for by charging a fee for each girl who wants to spend the week there. Easter week was usually a time of letting loose

I hope this answers your question. Adelaide

Thanks again Joe Due to the inspiration of this post and it’s kickstarting my creative flow (I’ve been editing my first novel), I have decided to do the NaNo July Camp.

Using some of the above prompts I am aiming to complete a collection of short stories, prose and poetic interludes. My goal is only 10,000 words. This will give me time to edit, shape and tease out detail. It’s winter in my part of the world. A cosy time to write beside the fireplace.

A brief synopsis: A collection of short stories, prose and poetic interludes that reflect on the shadows, woods, winds and ocean waves of a south coast winter.

Where nature walks deep into the rhythm of this human’s hibernating season and beckons her into conversation with looming clouds, long shadows and the low breathing reach of winter sun.

That she may see the beauty that dances between the tempest winter weather sweeping the landscape and her quiet resting inner world.

Of course I’ll still be visiting TWP daily. For ongoing inspiration and community to share with. Cheers Dawn 🙂

What a great, stimulating post! I chose the ‘Morning’ prompt.

My eyes slowly creaked open, only to squint in the sun beam that had smacked my face, arousing me from sleep. But I hadn’t been asleep…had I? I couldn’t be sure. As I groggily sat up in bed, a chill ran down my spine as the air conditioning kissed my back-drenched with sweat. The next thing I took notice of was the pounding in my chest. It seemed that my heart had been beating wildly only moments ago, and now it was doing its best to resume normality. Yet that wasn’t all. There was a dull, aching that had come with the wild beating. In my mind’s eye, I could see a face, slowly fading from sight. It’s features were slowly becoming more and more obscure. Who was he? Why did I care? Hardly a minute had passed before the man’s face vanished from my mind entirely. Birds began to chirp cheerily outside my window, and without knowing why- a tear slipped down my face and darkened the baby blue sheets. I struggled to search my mind for the image of his face once more, but there was nothing. There never would be- except for the lone tear that spotted my sheets.

Great start that draws your readers in; beginning of the day, mysterious dream image evoking intense emotion, loved it Catherine!

This is amazing.

I chose the sleepless prompt. I kind of went deeper than I was trying to.

She tossed. She turned. Her eyes wouldn’t stay shut. They would stay open either. She blinked. The dark of the night filled the room, and the smell of dust covered everything. The blankets on the bed were everywhere, and one the pillows had been thrown on the floor. The rest of the bedroom looked neat, beside the dark and glooming aroma.

She had a specific person on her mind. Someone she had been wondering about for awhile. She didn’t have a crush, nor were they enemies. The person was just very… normal. She tried getting her mind on something else, only to be reminded on him somehow. The smell was like him, the smell of the room.

She turned again, thinking of what happened that day. He had asked her a strange question; one that’s wasn’t like trying to know someone. It was just strange. “Do you like country music?” His words echoed in her mind. She had said no, and then he had left, without any sign.

He wasn’t exactly a normal boy, but he wasn’t weird either. He wears black often, but sometimes he’ll wear pink. His hair is often messy, but sometimes, for no reason, it’s perfectly neat. He manly sticks to keeping quiet, but sometimes, he’s the most active in class.

Thank’s, it is very creative! Besides I found this writing prompts tool http://youressayhelper.com/writing-prompt-generator.html very helpful!

Found this post and took a stab at the grandfather prompt.

I never knew my grandfather.

A man walks towards me. Top hat, suit. Black against white mist. He is smiling. He is a handsome man. He does not take a step but if he did they would be long strides. Purposeful, directed. He is tall but does not tower over me. And he is looking at me. Not at me, not through me. At me. At the deep sliver of me before the echoes of memory. And smiling. A smile that reaches from ear to ear. A smile that starts in the gut and ends in the eyes. A smile that leaves me quivering inside my own skin. He knows my secret.

How does he know. What if he tells someone.

He sees me. No, he sees him. The lie of lies. He sees past the lies. He sees the lies I tell myself and he laughs. A laugh from the belly that shakes the mists he reaches out from.

Small lies. Self-pity. Worthlessness. Fear. His eyes move past them, not even bothering to swat them aside.

Something rests on my heart.

I was inspired when I read this post and I immediately made a story. However, I came up with my own prompt: Jealousy.

I keep finding the wrong in her brown capturing eyes, hoping to see the darkness she has yet to reveal. I keep finding the treason in her refined movements, the plan in her bright smile, the sting in her sweet words yet I couldn’t find any. She is the sun, and everyone is flocking around her warmth but I am blinded. My eyes sting and my breath caught within my throat, afraid they will notice the insecurities blowing in and out of my lungs. Afraid to move for they might see the urge to block their words worshiping her, slowly pressing my stomach, burying me into the depths of the dark place I wouldn’t want to be in but I’m still falling, falling, and falling. I have to avoid the mirror and the vision of myself beside her, comparing and losing. I have to refrain from looking as it would pour fuel into the fire and I have to stay away, far away from her. She pleaded why am I keeping distance, as I remember how my stomach churns every time they prefer her, how I’m always in the shadow of her glow, and I retreated leaving her groping in the dark for an answer, like how I’m pathetically groping for salvation. I cry that night chanting apologies; I am lost and I have to find myself, hoping to be stable and solid so my molecules will not easily drown in hers. I am me and she is her as they point my parts apart from her. A heterogeneous system, as one, as sisters, as best friends. But not today. Today I’m lying on the thorns of my selfish inexcusable reasons devoid of any strength to get up. Today, I’m still avoiding the traces of her on my notebook and my map. I’m sorry, you are the best and the worst that has happened to me and for that pitiful reason, today at 10 am in our small warm coffee shop I will not be there. I will be somewhere else, a place cowards run off to, somewhere you wouldn’t have to go.

——-your undeserving best friend: jealousy

I just re-posted a post on my FB page about using images to help you write! https://www.facebook.com/A-Page-A-Day-Lets-all-write-just-one-page-a-day-103970129720405/?fref=ts I used many images to write my novel. El Salvador’s civil war was the most photographed war in history. I bet it still is! Thanks for a great post! Sherrie Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador: http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P11Ch5chkAc

“Morning”

The sun shone through a small gap where the panels of curtains met. Usually the curtains did their job and blacked out any light, but the angle she laid in bed today was the perfect place for the sun to shine right on her face. It beamed like a laser through her eyelids. She turned over in bed attempting to evade the warm light. Her subconscious knew something wasn’t right. She bolted upright and scrambled to find her phone which served as her alarm clock. Dead. What time is it? She ran to the kitchen to look at the clock on the oven. It was blinking 3:38. This can’t be right, the sun is shining bright as noon. The power must have gone off sometime during the night. She hurried back to her room to plug in her phone. It seemed like hours as she waited for it to charge enough to turn on. Panic started to set in. Finally! The iPhone beamed back to life. The clock on the home screen read 7:22. She was late. Late for her first day at her new job.

I really enjoy creative writing and I hope to get better at it. I always have different ideas running through my head but I never actually put them on paper. I chose the “Morning” prompt and I feel like this is actually pretty good! Morning The warm rays of the sun filled the room as Vaughn lay their asleep. It was about 10:45 in the morning, and Vaughn was still exhausted from yesterday’s job searching. He had been fired about three months ago and has been budgeting his money the best he can. Natalie, his girlfriend, has been giving him small amounts of money here and there. Bzzz, Bzzz…his phone starts ringing, causing him to wake up from his deep sleep. His violet eyes scan the screen of the phone. Vaughn sighs, noticing it’s a text from Natalie. He puts the phone back where it was and snuggled back under the warm covers. As soon as his platinum hair hit the pillow- bzzz, bzzz, bzzz…this time it was a call. Vaughn released a sigh of annoyance, noticing it was Natalie again. “Hello”, he answered. “Vaughn I cannot believe you forgot again, you know as much as I help you, you could be a little better at remembering things”, Natalie yelled through the speaker. “What are you talking about, Natalie, we didn’t plan anything today! You said you were tired” Vaughn explained, his patients wearing thin. “I just texted you and said ‘Meet me at the new café’, I’ve been waiting here for thirty minutes and you’re still not here!”, Natalie whined. “Okay, okay, I’m on my way Naty” Vaughn threw the covers off himself and started getting ready. He wouldn’t have heard the end of it if he didn’t go. While he was pacing through his apartment, he knocked down a picture frame. He bent down and froze when he saw the picture it displayed. It was him standing beside a girl with brown hair and tan skin. Her smile was gentle and calming and her violet eyes sparkled with joy. Vaughn gently held the frame and whispered,” Cerene…”. *Flashback to High School* “Will we still talk like we are now, Florida seems like its pretty far”, Vaughn asked nervously. “Of course we will, silly, you’re my best friend!” Cerene Exclaimed. Vaughn and Cerene had been friends since elementary school. They were always together. Unfortunately, Cerene’s family traveled a lot. Her father’s job required them to move from time time. Vaughn didn’t like this at all, sure he had other friends, but they weren’t his best friends like Cerene was. She was always there for him, even when he was sick, she would bring tea, movies, or just sit and talk with him. Everyone at school thought the two liked each other. It was true Vaughn liked Cerene but he never knew how she felt about him. Cerene was leaving a week after graduation. As the day grew closer, Vaughn noticed that Cerene just wasn’t her cheery self anymore. Instead she seemed depressed and disconnected from the world. He’d find her staring off into the distance a lot like she was thinking. Three days before she was supposed to leave, Vaughn got a call from Cerene. “Hey, Cerene, how’s it goin’”, Vaughn answered. “Hey Vanya…I..um..I have some bad news” Cerene explained. Her voice was shaking, Vaughn wondered if she was about to cry. “What is it, Cerene” he asked, worried. “I’m…leaving earlier than I thought”, she said sadly. “But why, what happened to te week after graduation” he pleaded. “I’m sorry, Vanya, I tried to get extra time but my father said we have to leave earlier than expected!” she exclaimed. “Its okay, Cerene, its not your fault, but can I see you before you leave, please”, Vaughn asked with hope. “Of course, silly, you’re my best friend!” Vaughn snapped out of day dream when his phone started vibrating again.

Today was a fresh day, leaves crunching beneath my boots and the sun beams stretching out for a new morning. I usually had these walks by myself, oftenly I’d get looks from my friends of concern and they had always questioned me as to why I never invited them along. But me and the Autumn season are meant to be alone, we’re meant to be one.

My nose was red, and I had an occasional case of the sniffles not that I was really bothered about it. Nevertheless it might not be winter but the whispy breeze, and the coldness of the astomophere was indicating that it was near. I paused at the tree, in the middle of a meadow. A meadow packed with tall soft grass, flowers that were in the process of blooming and the silent birds that peacefully flew on by in the bright clear sky. I parked myself down, my back resting on the bark of the old tree my knees tucked into my chest while my arms rested on top of my knees.

I felt my hair blow with the sudden blast of wind, like waves of an ocean as I felt tears prick in the corners of my eyes. Truth is, Autumn was the sad season. The season where I lost my younger brother, Despite his falling sand the countless times he was called names and picked on by the other children, he always managed to smile and laugh with me, which you wouldn’t expect from a brother and sister. After he passed I always came here, somehow his presence lingered near. My eyelids eventually gave away to the tiredness from my sobs, my throat was sore, so just as I fell asleep, a small murmered whispered in my ear, “Sweet dreams, Sis.” And a small smile creeped onto my face, as well as the last falling tear.

This is lovely. I believe it to be true.

Beach Do you remember the last year when I called you and requested to see me at Clifton beach in the evening. You might have forget that call but tell me have you forgot that last meeting also? You might have forgot that meeting but tell me have you forgot our last dance on the sand. The sun was setting and the sky turned red as if it had not slept since many last nights. Do you remember when your left foot was kissing my right foot and your right my my left. Do you remember when we danced on the music of sew waves. Do you remember when a wave touched our feet took the sand from beneath our feet away with it. Since that day I am hanging in the air. I don’t have anything to place my feet on.

Using the prompt, “Road trip” and this is what I came up with.

11:00 in the morning, my wheelchair is securely locked in the mechanism. I’m semi nervous and excited, watching out the window as the bus pulls away from the depot. Out the corner of my eye, I notice one seat up and over, a young boy is looking back at me. I give him a quick smile before he turns to his mother. She looks back to me then nudges his shoulder. A scolding expression on her face and speaking quietly to him him. I don’t hear what is said but I’m sure I can imagine her words. Parents, how they stifle a child’s curiosity. 2:45 in the afternoon, the lift is shaky as I ride it down off the bus. I’m glad to have all four wheels on the ground. I have a couple of minutes before I have to board the next bus. Just enough time for a quick bathroom break. I’m passing the young boy again. We make eye contact. His mother is busy scrounging through her purse. Oops, I bet she lost her tickets. I pop a wheely as I ride pass the boy and a bright smile lights up his young face as he watches. I turn back around, looking at him and smile. Catching a glimpse of me, his mother grabs his hand and pulls him along toward a customer desk. My eyes are still on the little boy as he looks back to me once more. I quickly give him a thumbs up, then ride off toward the rest room, wheeling on my back tires. 3:00, I’d just exited the bathroom. Time to board. The bus will be leaving in 10 minutes bound for Philadelphia. I see the boy and his mother once more as I wheel myself toward the bus’s lift. Catching the mother’s eye, I remark, “He’s a bright young boy. He’s very inquisitive, nurture him well.” She manages a curt smile and hurriedly walks toward her destination and I can’t help to watch them as the lift raises me up to enter the bus. I can’t help but wonder about the man he’ll grow up to be.

this story really made my day and i would honestly consider you to become an author. I will forever cherish this story as i can relate being wheelchair bound and now have been inspired to “pop a wheely” which i will continue to do in my every day life.You are the reason i wake up in the morning

Robert i take a massive offence to this as i am also “wheelchair bound” and like to “pop a wheely” from time to time and would highly recommend deleting your comment

As a fellow wheeler, I too take great pride in ‘popping wheelies’ whenever free time shows face in my schedule. The W.A. society (wheelers anonymous) are a faction of like minded individuals who all have a great passion for the art that is ‘paralytic parkour’. I come from a long line of wheelers, must be in my genes-sorry future kids L0L! Not a singe soul has stood tall in my family for many of years now, everyday’s a struggle, all worse than the last, but my strong will and high admiration pulls me through with a little grass from my friends if you get what i mean 😉 anyway, maybe we could arrange a date sometime soon, ill send you my details for future reference.

Hey AJ, how you doing? cause im doing swell BUT i couldn’t help wondering about this faction im hearing of, i have some gnarly brain storms about a new stunt wheelchair as ive been having a lot of trouble going down the half pipe at my local skate park, i seem to be falling out my wheelchair every time i go down and cant get back up. approximately 1/3 paralytic parkourers die due to faulty wheelchairs, i hope you take my brain storms into deep consideration.

sincerely Lance.

WOW lance you seem to have caught my attention because this is a everyday common struggle of most wheelers. We wheelers have to stick together and have each others backs even when we are both struggling to find our feet quite literally! the only thing i have to live on is hope and you know what they say about hope ‘breeds eternal misery’ .

I found myself choosing the Grandfather Prompt. I felt my eyelids getting heavier as I placed my head on the car window. It was a quiet day. Even the sound of my mother and Grandmother talking seemed soothing. I was quickly brought back to reality by a voice message on my mother’s phone, from my grandfather. “I need..help…a hospital. Please come..” ,he whispered, then silence. I felt my heart drop to my stomach as his voice echoed in my head. I froze. I didn’t move. I couldn’t move… All I could do was sit there, listening to my mother trying to hold back her tears as she was speeding on a busy street. Only my younger sister shaking my arm snapped me back. “What’s going on? Why are they crying?”, she desperately asked. In that second, it hit me. We might not get there in time. I tried to hold back my tears, I tried to be strong, but I couldn’t. I could hear my heart pounding louder than my thoughts. I felt my temperature rising by the second. My tears sliding down my chin. The only thing I resorted to doing was pray. “Please, not today. I’m not ready. Not this soon, let me hug him one more time. Don’t take him from me yet.”,I prayed in silence. Then the thoughts began to come. What was the last thing I said to him? When is the last time I told him I loved him? My thoughts were interrupted as my mother slammed the breaks on my grandparents driveway. “Stay in the car.” ,my mother snapped as she ran out. The wait seemed endless. Everything felt unreal. I felt helpless. Was he dead? This can’t be how he leaves. I didn’t get to say goodbye. No more fighting over the t.v controller with him again. We would never share a piece of cherry pie again. I’ll never get another poem from him. My attention quickly turned to the door as my sister began to cry, as she realized the situation. My mother and grandmother came out struggling to carry my grandfather. I didn’t know what to think. “Where’s the nearest E.R?” , I hear my grandma yell. We made it on time. There seemed to be a weight off my chest. My grandfathers even SLIGHT breathing, was prayers answered.

After high school graduation we begin our journey, going to college; going here and there on vacations; work and exactly where we’re going isn’t clear. We can see down the road aways, sometime to the next turn, but our destination remains obscure. Often there are intersections and we glare down the different routes and make a choice and we’re off again. Job offers come and we change directions. We meet people and that may take is off in yet other directions. Then we start a family and the road seems to be long and hard. We wonder if we’re going down the right road. Will we get to nice place in the end? Will there be food and shelter waiting for us? Or will we run out of gas and be stranded, walking down the road? But we keep moving. Eventually the kids grow up and are in college and the road seems to open up and the scenery gets better. We start seeing what we think is our destination in the distance and our focus lands there. Are we going to make it – or can’t wait to make it. More intersections seem to keep the goal at bay, but we continue on. Kids are on their own road and we see them taking some of the same roads we travelled. But we make a turn and the goal is in view. We think back about the trip and how frustrating it was at the time and realize that it went by way too quickly. We long to be able to keep the trip going, taking in more sights and doing things that we didn’t stop and bother with previously. But we arrive as the sun sets. Out of gas. Cold. Hungry. Tired. And waiting for us is a huge lodge with a warm fireplace burning. A huge meal has been prepared. There is laughter, music and lots of people, many of whom we’ve known along the trip. It’s been a wonderful experience. And the talk is about the next road trip.

I absolutely love these! I just read a post about the benefits of using creative writing prompts and went looking for some to get started. Thanks so much for these!

Its been days since Ronda landed, maybe tonight she will get some sleep. Jet Lag has been a nightmare. Started the night befor the flight, woke up every 2-3 hours and could not fall back to sleep. Ronka always stresses before trips. Really she stresses before everything. The 13 hours on the plane were completely sleepless as well. Ronka rarely ever can sleep on a plane. She brought a book but did not read. She had some podcasts but didnt listen. Her focus was not good enough for any of those. Not even for random thoughts. She watched a few movies but probably doesnt remember much. At the last 2 hours she found Remi Cube on the airplane entertainment system and thats where she finally found solace. Went into a frenzy of playing until the plane landed. Ronda does most things in a frenzy. Now she’s in her parents home. Day 3 and she hasnt got much sleep. On the surface things are ok. She hasnt spiraled out of control yet. But deep inside she can feel the shift… She is not fully ok. Getting a little more grumpy and restless by the minute. A big total eclipse is happening in a few hours. The energies must be affecting. Ronda is always greatly affected with the universe arround her. The weather, The full Moons, the astrological signs. Ronda needs a good night sleep. A few good night sleeps. She needs to get back on track. She’s been doing relatively good lately.

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Top 10 Inspirational Road Trips for Writers

Whether you are a creative writing major immersing yourself in your craft, an English major with a knack for words or a biology major who somehow became the anomaly that is good at both science and languages, you might wonder what the necessary ingredients for good writing are. Many experts pinpoint the need for a daily discipline of writing or the necessity of reading vastly, but what writer can do without a dash of inspiration from the world around them? Take William Wordsworth whose most famous poems often stemmed from what he took in around him including his famous poem, “Tintern Abbey.”

Therefore, I present to you 10 inspirational places you mustn’t miss out on if you call yourself a writer. 

1. barnes & noble, union square park, manhattan, new york.

What writer doesn’t have a penchant for bookstores, especially a good Barnes & Noble? Well, the largest Barnes & Noble is nothing to scoff off at nestled in Union Square Park in Manhattan. Composed of four floors, it is a writer’s paradise for inspiration . Not only does it host mountains of books to stir the imagination, but it also boasts a café. Writers can take that inspiration and turn it into action right away.

“Now it is the one spot I dream about being for every writing session. The view of the park to my left and the bookstore encompassing me on the right. There is nothing quite like writing a novel in a place where they bloom,” Florida State University senior Olivia Brooks said.

Barnes & Noble in Union Square Park is a must visit for writers both looking for inspiration and looking to put that inspiration on the page. The combination of literature and a place to create it is lovely. So compile that TBR list and grab all the glorious books that will fill up that writer’s tank of imagination . But don’t forget to bring along your laptop, snag a coffee and get that writing flowing. And who knows, maybe one day you’ll see your own novel on those shelves.

2. Broadway

While in New York, a writer simply must visit Broadway to see what writers can produce with script writing and how that work plays out so beautifully in tandem with other artists. Productions rife with the creativity and ingenuity of writers parade the streets of Broadway and the nearby theatres. Musicals such as “Lion King,” “Wicked,” “Hamilton” and more not only show writers just how far they can fly but also inspire their creative instincts through the moving emotions , catchy songs and the thrumming atmosphere that only a live performance can bring. It just may inspire you to be a script writer!

3. Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Smoky Mountains

Moving out of the city, a writer may find inspiration from nature. Booking a cabin is a necessity for enjoying the breathtaking beauty of the forest-lined mountains. A writer can take in the solitude and listen to the chickadees’ songs as they perch on an evergreen or take in the cool breezes of an early morning. But just maybe, a writer’s retreat may be in order, inviting several fellow writers to your cabin to engage in community in their literary pursuits . One of the biggest complaints that writers often face is the lack of community in their craft, so writers would do well to take advantage of a writer’s retreat to bond with fellow classmates and cement bonds that last far beyond college. And what better place to form those relationships than in the Smoky Mountains?

4. Orchard House, Concord, Massachusetts

A writer may gain inspiration by visiting places where others wrote great works before them. Nestled in a town with a rich, literary history lies Orchard House where Louisa May Alcott wrote and set one of the most well-remembered books of all time, Little Women . A book based on Alcott’s own family, a tour at Orchard House allows Little Women to feel even more alive. Seeing a place where a renowned author found her own claim to fame is sure to spark seeds of reminiscence and imagination . And if Louisa May Alcott could find inspiration here, maybe you can too! Plus, if you visit, make sure you take advantage of their student discount.

5. Boston, Massachusetts

One does not need to leave Massachusetts to discover another city ridden with beauty and history. For the writer who craves trips packed with history, this place is a wonder for inspiration. Whether visiting the Paul Revere House or the Old North Church, this city is extraordinary for stirring a writer’s curiosity and passion. But even more than the history, the beauty of abutting the Atlantic is enough to draw the writer. Even the alleyways seem enchanting as you glimpse blue through the passageways of the city, hinting at the sea. After this trip, who would blame you for the historical fiction rolling from your fingertips!

6. Fern Canyon, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California

If the west coast is more accessible for you, Fern Canyon is a must. Residing in the Redwoods of California, it is a stunning sight. An amazing hiking opportunity, green ferns crawl up the rocks to the left and right of you with a stream running through the canyon. It is glorious and sure to be the seed of any good story .

On the Visit Redwoods site, they even remark, “On a sunny day, thousands of tiny drops of moisture make the canyon walls sparkle.”

And you wouldn’t be the first to gain inspiration from this paradise. The film The Lost World: Jurassic Park amongst others also utilized this scenery in their set list. They were inspired by this captivating canyon. Odds are you would be too. It is a place truly meant to inspire.

7. AWP Conference, Kansas City

If community and connections inspire you as a writer more than anything, you should consider a writer’s conference where you can mingle and make connections . Conferences give you a space to learn from experienced writers, get feedback and attend workshops. The largest conference in the US for writers is the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference. While it is held in a different city every year, in 2024, it will be held in Kansas City, Missouri. A must experience for a writer, plus with significant student discounts, it is truly wise to attend while a student. Don’t forget to snag some barbecue while in Kansas City, the city of barbecue.

8. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

For writers, there is something to be said about being seated closer to the heavens that brings inspiration. For that reason, being seated on a peak in Colorado is an excellent choice. The views from the top are phenomenal with the blue skies seeming vast and expansive. Plus, peace as you gaze out on the world below really helps you contemplate being a piece of a world of humanity. The beauty and vantage point bring ideal conditions for a writer lacking inspiration.

“I fell in love with Colorado’s nature and hiking and found myself pulling inspiration from different parts of my time there. The unique people, quirky shops and history of the land left me with a new outlook on how I could make my writing reflect just how diverse the human experience can be, ” Houston Christian University senior Sarah Ginnette Molina said.

Colorado is an excellent place to get a fresh perspective. What a wonderous place for any writer, but especially a poet. For certainly the viewpoint from Colorado is enough to reverse any writer’s block and compel a slew of new poems. Remember to take a small notebook with you that you can carry from the cities beneath to the peak up above. And don’t forget a jacket since a snowy wonderland can often be found cradled in the mountains, despite warm conditions below!

9. Lido Beach, Sarasota, Florida   

While some writers thrive in the mountains, others are restored and enlivened by the hotter weather and nearness to the beach. Lido Beach in Florida is a great spot for this. You can play in the sand, swim in the water and people watch among the diverse people who are lounging on the shore. You might even hear a snippet of different languages floating across the waters. So take in the vignettes of individuals playing and maybe use a few people you encounter as character inspiration for stories. Plus, while you’re at it, develop a great tan and maybe catch up on a good book for further inspiration!

10. Lake Jackson, Texas

Entering more of the south, a writer mustn’t neglect Texas. Especially because a special spot lies in the southeast of Texas that stirs the creative juices: Lake Jackson. The town is bestowed with tropical humid air, scented with flowers. It is a place thriving with a feeling of community and boasting a charming downtown. A lovely place for writers to discover.

It is a charming, hidden gem that writers might escape to in order to get that deep, irresistible urge to write that stems out of a small place of profound wonder and beauty . A place sprouting out of a need to provide housing for workers of a chemical plant, undeniable loveliness now sprouts as the dominant feeling. There are some spots that not many know about, but many more should. This is one of those places.

“It is something a person must experience himself— to be the one absorbing the natural beauty thriving everywhere; to be the one standing on the sands, just a few miles away, gazing into the salty horizon; to be the one ordering donuts from the shop everyone knows is the best around; to be the one getting to breath in the air and wonder just how God could have crammed this much heaven into one little spot on earth,” Thomas Edison State University senior Callie Sullivan said. “I am sure that whoever decides to come pause in their everyday life will also find it endearing. And maybe-just maybe-they, too, hear the stories the trees have been whispering. Maybe they, too, will be inspired to write…”

It is a spot that could almost make a writer out of anyone . For there are just some spots that fill you with the desire to do something with the wonder all around you. The atmosphere tugs as your heart. The beauty calls you to action. It demands a response.

About Madison Clark

Madison is a 2022 creative writing graduate from Oklahoma Baptist University. She enjoys a cup of black tea, a good snow and an old musical.

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38 Travel Writing Prompts for Travel Writers

Whether you’re experiencing writer’s block or stressing about the headline for your next travel writing pitch, we’ve got your back!

You should always check out the publication’s you’re pitching to get a feel for the style of their headlines for your best chance at success (and do some SEO research if it’s your own site), but here are some ideas to get the creative juices flowing…

Itineraries

[3] Days in [City] for [Nature] Lovers

The Perfect Long Weekend for a Romantic Trip to [City]

Itineraries for Kids of Every Age in [City]

How to See the Best of [City] in [2] Days

[7] [Movie] Filming Locations to Visit in [City]

1st Person Narratives

How I [Found Myself Again After Divorce] in [City]

How I [Explored My Roots] in [City]

Exploring my Hometown as a Travel Writer

My Search for [the Perfect Beach] in [City]

The Quest to Save [the Oneida Language] in [City]

Searching for [The Wolves of Nearly Extinct Fruit Dove]

Off the Beaten Path

[7] Restaurants Only Locals Know in [City]

Live Like a Local in [City]

Get Lost: Why I Ditched the Map in [City]

The Longest-Operating [Hotel] in [City]

Packing Lists

[12] Must-Pack Items for a Trip to [City]

The Carry-On Capsule Wardrobe for [City]

Packing for [3] Climates in One Carry-on

[9] Summertime Packing Must-Haves

Where to Find Black History in [City/State]

Where to Find the Best Coffee in [City]

Summer Arts Guide to [City/State]

The 5 Best Things to do in [City] When It’s Snowing

Anniversaries/Debuts

New [Art]-Themed Hotel Opens in [City]

See the [Exhibit Name] at [Museum Name] Before it Closes

[City] Celebrates It’s Centennial with Fun-Packed Weekend

Annual Festivals/Events

Don’t Miss This Year’s [Festival/Event Name] in [City]

How to Attend the [Festival/Event Name] on a Budget

5 Hotels That Put You Near the Action at the [Festival/Event Name]

Holidays/Seasonal

Travel Hacks for Making the Most of Christmas in [City]

Experience [Holiday] in [City]

Celebrate New Year’s in Style in [City]

A Black History Road Trip Across [State]

It’s Leaf-Peeping Season in [State]! Where to Find the Best Colors

Summer Fun in [City]

An Inside Look at [City/Resort/Activity]

Live Like [a Celebrity] at [Resort]

[7] Cities Where Vegans Eat Like Kings

Ready to take your travel writing to the next level? Join our Travel Writers Café for weekly calls-for-submission from editors, trainings, travel writing retreats , networking with other writers and more.

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Five Compelling Ways to Start a Great Travel Story

Wondering how to start your story with a bang professional writer, and travel writing scholarship judge lola akinmade åkerström shares her tips to instantly hook readers from the very first line..

Begin with a stressful situation

Begin with something simple, begin by placing the reader at the heart of the scene, begin with an assertion, begin with an active character.

The best  travel stories often start with strong opening sequences that skillfully pull the reader right into the story. To kick your travel writing skills up a notch, here are five powerful ways you can start your narratives. I am also including examples from my own work to help guide your learning experience.

Example 1 - “The sound of tiny spikes on our wheels crunching through snow was the only sound we heard for miles.” 

In this piece titled “ Racing on Thin Ice ”, I talk about my first time going ice-racing in a beat-up Volvo on a frozen lake in Swedish Lapland.

Example 2 - “ The eerie crackling of breaking ice. The crushing sound of iceberg meeting iceberg, slow-moving giants the size of five-story buildings. The howling of sled dogs piercing through the silent night. Greenland awakens all your senses…”

In this piece, I immediately take the reader on a sensory journey to Ilulissat, Greenland, which is known as the iceberg capital of the world. By transporting the reader to the middle of a stressful situation, it immediately heightens the tension they will feel as they start reading through the story. They become invested in seeing how you overcome or succumb to the situation you find yourself in.

Making a simple declarative sentence is one way of piquing interest. What does the writer know that the reader doesn’t yet? This can encourage the reader to stick with the story to figure out why the writer made such a bold statement. Example 1 – “ I know what’s coming.”

In My Little Green Book , I talk about what the world was like for me when I traveled on my Nigerian passport. That declarative statement was about what I knew I would encounter – yet again – at different foreign passport control stations.

Example 2 – “By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late.”

I wrote about the hidden dangers of selfies while traveling and I start with a personal experience of mine.

Are you an aspiring travel writer?  Learn more about our Travel Writing Scholarships.

Like travel photography, travel writing is also about capturing a sense of place as well through words and descriptions. By transporting the readers through showing and not telling. You can use the present or past tense, as long as you start right in the middle of the action.

Example 1 – “I have never seen an animal with such stamina. Three kilometers down a dusty dirt road and the hyena in front of us is still running. Our jeep slowly follows the scavenger, as quietly as heavy tires crushing pebbles allow. It is barely dawn, and we are heading towards Gurumeti River, the launch site of our hot-air balloon ride.”

Here, I bring the reader right into our jeep, and the middle of the action, as I make my way to an early morning hot-air balloon ride in the Serengeti.

Example 2 – “ My friends and I lay sprawled along the rocky narrow trail, utterly exhausted. With daypacks as pillows and sunhats half-covering our eyes, we had completely succumbed to fatigue. Our legs were failing us, muscles tensed from such unfamiliar, grueling exercise. My chest kept expanding wildly, trying to swallow as much of the thin air as it could. I’d done everything I was told to do, from drinking coca tea to chewing the plant’s leaves to help with the high altitude. But even time-tested remedies wane as one’s psyche takes over. Forging on was impossible at this point. I had mentally collapsed.”

In From Manicures to Machu Picchu , I talk about hiking the  Inca trail and, even though I’d physically prepared, I wasn’t as mentally prepared to tackle it as I’d initially thought. I bring the reader right to the point where I’d mentally given up.

Unlike the previous tip of a simple declarative statement, which is often based on strong past experiences (both negative and positive), this tip feels more like musings. Here, you are asserting observations or sharing a general anecdote about an experience.

Example 1 – “ Whale meat. Blubber. Seal. Eider (sea duck) … The first time I dug into these was in Greenland’s pint-sized capital  Nuuk (population 17,000), and it initially felt like checking off items from an endangered species list.” In a piece that explored Greenlandic Inuit cuisine , my opening assertion isn’t a declarative statement but rather, a casual observation.

Example 2 – “ It’s so easy to take Italy for granted. So easy to stroll across its centuries-old cobblestone piazzas, look past frescoes older than the United States of America, rush by history-laden buildings, intricate details, corners, nooks, and crannies.”

Here, I am making a casual statement about just how beautiful Italy and its historic Renaissance architecture truly is.

Another way of getting right into the story is by introducing key characters at the beginning. They can either be doing something, interacting, or speaking, and this can help frame your narrative.

Example 1 – “ My Portuguese seatmate, a small-framed man, with sunken cheeks and blond highlights streaked through thinning black hair, asks me a question 15 minutes before touchdown. Our only other interaction had been a quick acknowledging nod shared four hours ago while boarding in Frankfurt.”

This opening sequence can shed a lot of light on a character just by describing what they are doing or saying. In this case, my seatmate is about to ask me a question after ignoring me for four hours.

Example 2 – “ You need warmer clothes,” Nils tells me at our very first meeting.”

In Life Lessons from Sweden’s Reindeer Herders , I begin the piece with a key person, Nils Nutti, telling me that the winter gear I was already donning wasn’t enough to survive double-digit temperatures below zero.

So, there you have it. These five opening tips can help you capture the attention of your readers in an engaging and intriguing way. However, sustaining that attention for the rest of your narrative is another story .

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All good ideas. I only have one comment. Example 2 in the stressful situation category only mentions one sense, that of hearing. It might also have included sight (white light?), smell and taste (a comment on the fact that they’re non-existent? ) , feel (air on face?).

I love all the ideas. You are literally a Travel guru :) I specifically like the first one the most ie begin it with a problematic or stressful situation because that immediately caught the attention of the reader. Thank you for all the lovely ideas I am planning to start a travel blog of mine, good thing is I now know I can always look up to your blogs and writing style and learn so much

SEO would dictate that your first words are your chosen keywords. I find this so frustrating! The rule does not lend itself well to imaginative writing. Sometimes I don't want to tell my readers what my post is about right away. I want to keep them intrigued, in suspense, for a little while. SEO is a bully!

Hey, Nicely done and written. Loved your article. Traveling is the thing that expands our knowledge and experience. We get to know about more new things, people, countries, food, culture, and many more things.

Keep me informed

Latest articles.

40 Creative Travel Journal Ideas & Writing Prompts to Save Your Best Travel Memories

Travel journaling is therapeutic, fun, and provokes self-reflection and creativity. While we travel, we can be pretty busy – exploring different places, sleeping on planes, meeting new people. But just because you’re busy during your trip doesn’t mean you can’t keep a travel journal!

And if you’re just here for the prompts, you can jump to the bottom of the post or download the free ‘Where She Goes’ Travel Journal Prompts list from The Travel Library .

Some of these links are affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through that link, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure !

All About Travel Journaling: What It Is, How To Do It, & Should You Keep A Travel Journal?

It can be used to beat the lonely times of solo travel or try to escape the post-trip blues by reliving those memories just made.

The Best Travel Journals

If you struggle with what to write about, opt for journals with prompts built into them (or scroll down to the prompts below and download the list!)

Travel Journal Apps

Everything has an app these days, right? Travel journaling can even be done on your phone! Some apps for travel journaling include:

Creative Travel Journal Ideas

These unique travel journal ideas are meant to get you thinking about how to make your love for travel or the travels themselves come alive.

Look for inspiration everywhere. Maybe you have a ton of extra coins lying around from your trip to Italy . Or you saved those flowers you picked near the coast of France and they are now dried. These can all be accessories used to bring your travel memories back to life in your journal!

Photo Pocket

Scrapbook layout.

While the first idea to making your travel journal more creative was a simple way to include photos in your journal, this version takes a bit more time and creativity.

Good places to buy unique stickers and decals are Etsy , Amazon , and Society6 .

Here are some of my favorites for an aesthetic travel journal cover and pages!

Add Your Own Art

Preserving tickets, passes, & other mundane mementos.

They may seem useless after your trip, but these tokens of your travels are the real elements that bring your memories to life. Seeing a word can help you imagine a place, but physically touching your metro pass or gallery ticket takes you right back to the moment you used it.

Choose Something to Collect

Whether it is stamps, postcards, or boarding passes, build up a consistent collection of them from wherever you travel.

Travel Journal Prompts for Reflection & Memory-Keeping

Travel journal prompts are ways to combat writer’s block and inspire creativity. To make these prompts easier to reference, you can download the free printable of ‘Where She Goes’ Travel Journal Prompts from The Travel Library, where you’ll also have access to resources like my girl’s packing list and Lightroom photo presets.

The Journey

The destination, general memory-keeping, final tips for travel journaling.

Let me know what you think of these travel journal ideas, prompts, & tips with a comment!

The more memories we make, the more important it is to jot them down so we have them forever. Tell me if you’re excited about travel journaling like me!

You may also enjoy:

Vienna on a budget: 10 money-saving travel tips, leave a reply cancel reply.

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Check this out, buy me a coffee, planning a trip to italy, looking for something.

• AI, Your Side Hustle Hero to Make Money from Home

Think AI is just for super-smart scientists? Nope! There are tons of ways you can use AI to make some serious cash from home.

Ready to turn your tech-love into a side hustle? Here are some amazing ideas:

The Content Creation Powerhouse

1. ai, your writing buddy.

Imagine having a writing assistant that never gets tired, bored, or has writer’s block! AI tools like Jasper and Rytr help you crank out blog posts, website copy, product descriptions, and even creative stuff like poems or short stories.

You can write paid articles for websites or companies, or use AI to make your own online business shine with tons of fresh content. AI can even help you find ideas and make sure your writing is on point!

Read : 5 ChatGPT Prompts to Drive Business Growth and Innovation

2. Pics in a Flash

Ever wish you could draw anything you imagine? AI image generators like DALL-E and Midjourney let you do just that!

Just type in what you want to see – like “a cat flying a spaceship” or “a watercolor landscape of a hidden waterfall” – and the AI will create it.

You can sell your images on stock photo sites, use them to make your blog posts stand out, or turn them into cool digital art pieces you can sell online.

3. Movie Magician

AI can help you become the next editing superstar! Services can cut and paste video clips, add background music, and even turn your dialogue into subtitles for different languages.

Imagine helping YouTubers make their videos snappier, or editing short videos for businesses– it’s a skill you could even be paid for!

AI Expert Services

1. the global chat champ.

If you know another language (or more!), AI translation tools become your BFFs. Instead of taking forever on translations, AI does the basic work, and you fine-tune it for accuracy and style.

Get gigs translating websites so they reach worldwide markets, translating important documents, or even adding subtitles so movies and videos can be enjoyed by everyone!

2. Meet Your Robot Assistant

Businesses want to offer help 24/7, but that’s impossible for humans! That’s where chatbots come in.

Platforms like Dialogflow let you “train” little AI assistants to answer common questions, take orders, or gather information from potential customers even when everyone’s asleep.

It’s like coding and customer service rolled into one cool job.

3. Data Detective

AI is amazing at spotting patterns way too huge for humans to see alone. You can offer services by using AI to analyze mountains of social media chatter to see what people really think about products or brands.

Investors might pay you to use AI to spot stock market trends. Businesses might want you to use AI to track their rivals and see what sneaky plans they might be hatching!

Affiliate Marketing with a Techy Twist

1. ai reviewer: the ultimate comparison tool.

Imagine being able to gather tons of information on different products in a flash! That’s what AI lets you do. Let’s say you want to review the best robot vacuums.

AI tools can help you scrape customer reviews, compare features across different brands, and even summarize the pros and cons. You write awesome reviews, include your special affiliate links, and whenever someone clicks your link and buys, you earn cash.

It’s like being a super-helpful shopping guide and getting paid for it!

2. Super-Niche Websites: Your Secret Weapon

Sometimes the biggest money isn’t in the broadest topics, but the super-focused ones. Imagine a website not about pets, but all about the cutest outfits for teacup poodles! AI tools help you find these “micro-niches” – topics huge groups of people are obsessed with but might have fewer websites dedicated to them.

Once you’ve picked your niche, AI can help with everything else. It can find keywords that help people find your site, suggest tons of article ideas, and even help you write some of the content.

AI can also help you find products related to your niche to promote with affiliate links, making your awesome website into a money-making machine.

Build Your AI Empire

1. tool time: coding for cash.

If you have some coding skills, you can build super-useful, bite-sized AI tools that people will happily pay for. Think of common problems people have: resizing a ton of images is a pain, long articles can be a drag to read, and catching every single grammar error is tough.

You could build simple tools that offer AI-powered solutions – a quick image resizer, an article summarizer, or an extra-smart grammar checker. Sell these tools on online marketplaces, and suddenly you’re not just using AI, you’re selling it!

2. Plugin Power: Supercharge Popular Programs

Do you know your way around popular software like Photoshop, Excel, or even game design programs? You can become a plugin superstar! Create little add-ons that use AI to do cool new things.

Maybe your plugin adds AI filters to Photoshop, or teaches Excel to predict future patterns based on the data. Find platforms that allow developers to sell plugins for their software, and your creations could make you money while helping others work smarter.

AI Business Sensei: The Ultimate Consultant

If you get really good with AI, and understand how businesses work, you could make serious money as a consultant. Companies often have no idea how to start using AI to their advantage.

You could be the expert that helps them! Teach them how AI can find them new customers, help them analyze huge amounts of data to make better decisions, or even automate some parts of their business to save them time and money.

As AI gets more important, companies will be desperate for consultants like you!

Things to Remember:

Humans still needed: the ai hype is real, but….

AI is a powerful tool, but it’s still just that – a tool. It can mess up, make stuff that’s just plain weird, or even be used for harmful things if we’re not careful. That’s where you come in!

Your job is to double-check AI’s work, make sure it sounds natural and makes sense, add your own creative spark, and be the one to make sure the AI is doing good, not harm.

Find Your Thing: Be the Specialist

Trying to be an expert in everything AI-related is a recipe for a headache. Instead, become known as THE person for something specific.

Are you the best AI product reviewer for tech gadgets? The go-to person for building customer service chatbots? The genius who finds hidden stock market patterns using AI?

Specializing makes it easier for clients to find you and know exactly what you can do for them.

Never Stop Learning: The AI Train Keeps Rolling

AI technology changes at lightning speed! New tools, techniques, and updates are happening all the time. To stay ahead of the game, you’ve got to be curious and willing to learn.

Subscribe to tech newsletters, mess around with new AI programs as they come out, and take online courses. The more you know about cutting-edge AI, the more valuable your skills become!

• Chat GPT Prompts to Drive Business Growth
• Modern Ways to Earn Money from Home in 2024

21 Creative Travel Journal Ideas & Prompts for Your Next Trip

February 29, 2024

Journaling is a great way to make the most of any trip. Here are some of our favourite creative travel journal ideas.

Travel Journal Ideas

Photos and videos aren’t the only ways to capture your travels. A travel diary can help you enjoy the trip you’re on and help you relive all those memories once you’re home. After all, how often do you look back through your phone’s photos?

I’ll be honest. Completing a travel bullet journal is something I often dream about more than I manage to complete, particularly when travelling with young children. But over the years, the travel journals I have managed to complete have brought me great joy and prompted my ageing brain to remember sights, smells and tastes more vividly than ever.

So, don’t get hung up on making it pretty and perfect. Just concentrate on enjoying your trip and use these travel journal ideas to deepen that enjoyment. Don’t let them turn into one more burden or chore to complete!

What is a Travel Journal?

A travel journal is whatever you want it to be, baby! Or in more standard talk:

A travel journal is a personal, written account that documents an individual’s experiences, observations, and emotions during their journeys. It serves as a dedicated space for recording details such as daily activities, cultural encounters, and reflections on the places visited.

Typically, travel journals include a mix of narratives, anecdotes, and practical information. Whether handwritten or digital, a travel journal is a valuable tool for preserving travel memories, fostering self-reflection, and creating a tangible record of one’s explorations and discoveries around the world.

Although, don’t think you need to write reams. We’ve plenty of creative travel journal ideas if writing doesn’t happen to be your thing. We’re all about the easy way to fill those travel journal pages.

Where to Find the Perfect Travel Journal

The romantic in me says that the best travel journal is found on the road. But the practical side of me knows that it’s easier if you pick one up before you go.

In my experience, you want a book that will stay flat when you fold it open and ideally have a tie or piece of elastic to hold it together again, to stop things falling out.

I also like travel journals with a space for a pen as that makes it more likely that you will actually have a pen with you when the time comes to write. In my experience, the best way to make sure that something happens is to remove as many obstacles as possible.

Personally, I prefer blank pages but I know that many prefer grids or lines. And I’ve never got to grips with a digital journal but if they work for you, then great!

A hard cover can protect from the bumps and bruises of life on the road but, then again, a soft cover is lighter to carry around.

Here are some lovely travel journal examples you can find on Amazon:

• Vegan Leather Beechmore Travel Journal
• Adventure Travel Journal with Prompts
• Moleskine Hardcover Travel Journal

Note: if you buy through any of the links on this page, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Why Bother Keeping a Travel Journal in the First Place?

Firstly, because it’s fun! However, keeping a travel journal also has a number of other benefits.

Such as…

Memory Enhancement:

• According to a study published in the journal Memory, the act of writing helps to consolidate and enhance memory. By documenting your experiences, in your own travel journal, you’re more likely to remember details of your journey. And that fits with what I learned when I was studying Neuroscience at Cambridge.

Stress Reduction:

• A study by the American Psychological Association suggests that expressive writing can help reduce stress and promote overall well-being. Journaling about your travel experiences allows you to process emotions and relive positive moments.

Increased Cultural Awareness:

• Research conducted by the Cultural Intelligence Center indicates that keeping a travel journal can contribute to the development of cultural intelligence. Writing about local customs, traditions, and interactions with residents fosters a deeper understanding of different cultures.

Reflection and Personal Growth:

• Psychologist James W. Pennebaker’s research on expressive writing reveals that reflecting on experiences through writing can lead to personal growth and self-discovery. A travel journal provides a space for introspection and learning.

Enhanced Creativity:

• Again, the busy American Psychological Association suggests that engaging in creative activities, such as writing, can boost cognitive function and creativity. Documenting your travels in a journal encourages creative expression.

Capturing Details:

• Studies on eyewitness testimony indicate that people tend to forget details over time. Keeping a travel journal helps in preserving the specifics of your experiences, ensuring a more accurate recollection later on. Not that we hope you’ll end up in court. More, that we hope you’ll remember the highlights of your trip.

Improved Communication Skills:

• Journaling encourages the practice of effective communication. Documenting your thoughts and experiences helps refine your ability to articulate ideas and stories.

Digital Detox and Mindfulness:

• A study by the Pew Research Center found that 85% of adults in the United States use the internet. Keeping a physical travel journal offers a break from screens, fostering mindfulness and a deeper connection with your surroundings. Little details can bring about a big sense of calm.

Goal Setting and Achievement:

• Again, the good old American Psychological Association notes that setting and achieving small goals, such as completing a journal entry each day, can boost motivation and self-esteem. A travel journal provides a structured way to set and accomplish writing goals.

Legacy and Sharing:

• According to a study by Ancestry.com, 77% of adults believe it’s important to preserve their family history. A travel journal can serve as a legacy, allowing future generations to gain insights into your experiences and perspectives.

So, how about that? Not just a pretty page after all.

21 Gorgeous and Creative Travel Journal Ideas

OK, let’s get to the fun part! Creative travel journal ideas!

Collect Ticket Stubs

Ticket stubs may not seem so glamorous at the time but they’re one of those travel journal ideas that’s quick and easy to do, with great rewards later on. If you find yourself too busy on the trip, just shove (ahem, collect) them as you go along in one envelope. Once you’re home, you can then arrange them in a scrapbook or bullet journal along with notes and photos.

Carry Some Lightweight Supplies

It’s easier to keep up with your travel diary if you have the right tools with you. No-one needs to carry about an entire artist’s briefcase but a few pens, pencils and a roll or two of washi tape can help make it manageable.

Not sure what washi tape is? It’s like sellotape only comes with a pattern and is much more forgiving when unrolling and using it. You can pick up some washi tape here . It’s a great option to make sure things don’t always fall out along the way.

Brush up on Some Writing Tips

A travel diary shouldn’t feel like homework. But it will be more rewarding to write and definitely more pleasurable to read if you brush up on some writing techniques before you go.

We run a range of writing courses to get you started, including:

• Freelance Writing Masterclass
• Write Better, Write Now
• The Writing Boost

So, whether it’s a quick weekend away or a road trip journal that spans several months, you’ll feel more confident about what goes into your own travel log.

Pick up Some Postcards

This is one of my favourite creative travel journal ideas.

Now, we’re not talking about standard tourist postcards here (although, obviously, that’s fine if that’s what you want to do. It’s your travel diary, right?!)

We’re talking about flyers and postcards for art galleries, live music, exhibitions and special events. Business cards from cafes. Anything you saw and enjoyed and which gave you a taste of the place.

Collect the Cash

Spend more than a few days in a destination and the local money soon becomes a background event that you stop noticing. But when you’re back home, it’s a connection to the place.

So, if you can spare some of the lower denomination notes, it’s a great idea to tape a few into your travel journal.

Keep the Maps

You know those maps that are folded back and forth, torn, soggy and scribbled over? Keep them! It’s amazing how quickly you forget the detail of a place but a scribbled note and the white fluff along a folded map seam brings it back right away. New places, new maps.

Make the Food to Go

At the risk of sounding like a hoarder, look out for sweet wrapper, chopstick wrappers, beer labels and more that really fit the local food you had in a destination.

I always look out for local flavours in particular, so this method of scrapbooking (sounds better than hoarding) works well for me.

Flower Press Stress

Sometimes, pressing flowers or leaves works wonders. And, sometimes, it just makes a mess. This is one of those travel journal ideas that you need to do just right: ideally with a big patch of sellophane rather than just a strip of washi tape.

Be careful, though. Some countries, most notably New Zealand and Australia, are very strict about flowers and seeds crossing their borders. Probably best to avoid this if you plan on heading there.

Sketch Skills

Small sketches and beautiful drawings can really bring a travel diary to life. If you can draw, that is.

If not, never fear. While we can’t all be the best at everything, we can all master a few basic techniques.

It’s a good idea to just relax and have a go.

Learn the Lingo

As everyone knows, with a few local phrases, you’ll get a better reception wherever you go. Yet, with age, it’s alarming how quickly that knowledge fades.

Write down those phrases while they’re fresh! It’s a fun way to nurture those brain cells.

Stick in Those Lists

Have you used a packing list? A leaving the house checklist? A bucket list? To-do list? If so, stick them in! They’ll be surprisingly interesting to look at come the end of your trip. Don’t let your trip planning go to waste!

And if you don’t? Check out our collection of packing lists and pre-travel checklists here .

Use Some Travel Journal Writing Prompts

When inspiration fails, fall back on these. Don’t worry if you feel cheesy. No-one has to read this but you.

Travel Journal Prompts Before You Go

• Outline your expectations and goals for the upcoming journey. What do you hope to achieve or experience during this trip?
• Share your pre-trip excitement and any pre-travel rituals or preparations you engage in before embarking on a new adventure.
• Detail the research you’ve conducted about the destination, including its culture, history, and notable attractions. What aspects are you most eager to explore?
• Reflect on any pre-trip concerns or uncertainties. How do you plan to address them or prepare for potential challenges?
• Describe the anticipation you feel about trying the local cuisine. Are there specific dishes you’re looking forward to sampling?
• Outline your itinerary and the key activities you have planned for each day. What landmarks or attractions are a must-see for you?
• Consider the local customs and etiquette of the destination. How do you plan to respect and engage with the local culture?
• Share your thoughts on the packing process. What essentials are you making sure to bring, and what strategies are you using to pack efficiently?
• Reflect on any language barriers you might encounter. Have you learned a few basic phrases or expressions in the local language to enhance your experience?
• Write about your overall mindset and emotions as you approach the trip. What are your hopes, fears, and anticipations for the upcoming adventure?

Travel Journal Prompts For on the Road

1. Describe your initial impressions upon arriving at your destination. 2. What local cuisine or dish did you sample, and how would you rate your experience? 3. Reflect on a memorable encounter with a local resident or fellow traveller. 4. Share a moment when you stepped out of your comfort zone during your journey. 5. Detail the sights, sounds, and scents of a particular place that left a lasting impression on you. 6. Write about a unique cultural tradition or festival you experienced during your travels. 7. Describe a hidden gem or off-the-beaten-track location you discovered. 8. Share a humorous or unexpected anecdote from your trip. 9. Reflect on a challenging situation you encountered and how you overcame it. 10. Write about a place that surpassed your expectations and why. 11. Document a day spent exploring nature, whether it’s a hike, day at the beach, or wildlife encounter. 12. Discuss the impact of local art, music, or architecture on your overall experience. 13. Capture the essence of a local market or shopping district you visited. 14. Reflect on how the local history and heritage influenced your perception of the destination. 15. Write about a moment of tranquillity or relaxation during your journey. 16. Share your thoughts on the transportation methods you used and any interesting experiences. 17. Describe a sunrise or sunset that left you in awe. 18. Document a day focused on immersive cultural experiences, such as workshops or language classes. 19. Write about a place you’d love to revisit and explore further in the future. 20. Reflect on the personal growth or insights gained from your travel experiences.

Travel Journal Prompts for Once You Get Back

• Reflect on the overall experience of your journey. Did it meet, exceed, or differ from your initial expectations?
• Capture the emotions you feel upon returning home. What aspects of your routine are you excited to resume, and what do you miss from your travels?
• Share your favourite moments from the trip and how they contributed to your overall satisfaction.
• Write about any unexpected discoveries or surprises that occurred during your travels.
• Reflect on the impact of the journey on your perspective and personal growth. In what ways do you feel changed or enriched?
• Describe the local cuisine that left a lasting impression on you. Are there any dishes you wish you could recreate at home?
• Outline any challenges you faced during the trip and how you successfully navigated them.
• Consider how the cultural experiences have influenced your worldview. What lessons or insights will you carry forward from your travels?
• Share your thoughts on the souvenirs or mementoes you brought back. Do they hold special meaning or memories?
• Write about your plans for future travels. Are there destinations you’re now eager to explore based on this recent experience?

We hope you’ve enjoyed this collection of creative ways to catalogue different places and, more importantly, what they meant to you.

For all we’ve talked about the benefits of travel journaling, the important thing is that it’s fun. Don’t let your travel journal become a chore. Like all goals and tools, it’s just a way to help you fall even more in love with life.

Journal entries should make you think or make you smile. And that’s enough.

Why not bookmark this article on creative travel journal ideas on Pinterest for later?

More on Preparing for Your Next Trip

• The Only International Travel Checklist You Need
• Printable Holiday Packing List PDF: The Only Checklist You Need
• The 21 Best Souvenir Ideas for 2024
• 27 Long Haul Flight Essentials and a Flight Checklist for You
• The Best Flight Booking Hacks For Savvy Travellers
• The 10 Travel Skills Every One of Us Should Know
• The 50 Best Travel Websites and Travel Resources
• The best travel journal ideas for kids

Why not pin these creative travel journal ideas on Pinterest for later?

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33 Terrific Travel Journal Ideas, Tips + Prompts!

Looking for the best travel journal ideas to help you remember your next trip–plus some prompts to help you think of what to write?

You’ve come to the right place!

As a lifelong lover of both journaling and travel, I have experimented with all kinds of travel journals over the years, ranging from the time-consuming to the simple, from the unique to the very basic.

I absolutely love the travel journaling system that I use now (more on that below), but depending on your habits and writing style, there is no limit to the number of ways to preserve your travel memories on the written page.

Some links in this post may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more detail.

This guide to travel journal ideas and prompts covers everything from the physical kind of travel diary to use, to tips on journaling effectively, to travel journaling prompts to help you get your writing started.

Remember, though, that the #1 rule of travel journaling is that there are no rules!

Anything that helps you preserve the intense memories of your travel experiences counts.

That being said: here are some of the best travel journal ideas out there!

Table of Contents

Terrific Travel Journal Ideas

Travel journaling tips, inspiring travel journal prompts, planning a trip.

While there are plenty of beautiful travel journals on the market, don’t feel like you need one to keep a memorable travel diary!

I’ve kept travel journals in everything from a $0.99 composition notebook to elaborate leather-bound notebooks to the Notes app in my phone, and I can confidently say that the best travel journals come from the heart–the physical place you put them is the least important function.

That being said, if you are looking for beautiful travel journal examples, I highly recommend these!

One Line a Day Journal

This is my current favorite travel journaling system, and I’ve been using it for nearly 5 years now!

Here’s the format: each page in this diary has a date at the top (say, August 17), and 5 small sections to write 1-2 sentences below it.

For 5 years, keep a daily journal of a memorable moment, and at the end, you’ll be able to look back and, on a single page, see what you did on all your August 17ths.

While this isn’t specifically a travel journal, I absolutely adore using it as one: the tracking of time through both days and years simultaneously is incredible, and the short time commitment is perfect for my lifestyle that already includes lots of writing.

I do still try to keep a long-form travel journal once a week or so, too, but I love my One Line a Day Journal so much that I recently bought two more, just to ensure I have the next decade covered if they stop making them!

Page A Day Travel Journal

Looking for something formatted for you, but with more of a travel theme and more of a long-form approach?

The Page A Day Travel Journal is perfect for that!

In addition to space to write about your day, there are spaces to note your destination and event the weather.

Classic Leather-Bound Journal

What reading-and-writing nerd among us hasn’t dreamed of owning a leather-bound journal to track their travels in?

I have always enjoyed this journal style and have owned a few in my life!

There are tons of similar ones on the market these days, given how popular they are, but I love the compass detail and great reviews on this one .

Postcards To Yourself

Looking for more unique travel journal ideas?

Consider sending postcards to yourself from the road!

In many destinations, you can mail yourself (or someone else) a postcard right from the souvenir shop where you purchase it–so bring a pen along, write some quick thoughts about your day, and drop it in the mail.

By the time you get home, you’ll have a collection of memories delivered right to your front door that you can save forever.

Travel Checklist Journal

If you’re the kind of traveler who wants to make sure they don’t forget a thing, the Travel Checklist Journal is the perfect choice!

With daily prompts covering everything from the restaurants you ate at that day to your most memorable moment of the day, it’s an in-depth log of your adventures.

I’ll be honest: I could never keep up with this much travel journaling on a daily basis.

But, some people absolutely can!

If you find yourself not sure what to put in some sections, though, don’t worry about it–better to skip a prompt than make your journal feel like work instead of fun.

Bullet Journal

A classic bullet journal like this makes a fantastic travel journal idea!

In addition to writing, consider including drawings, hand-drawn maps, charts, and more.

Standard Notebook

You don’t need anything fancy to keep a beautiful, memorable travel journal!

Anything from a simple composition notebook to the back of a receipt will do in a pinch, and I would never recommend putting off writing because you don’t have the “perfect” vessel to store your memories in.

If you’re looking for a fairly standard, lined notebook that is durable without including much formatting to get in the way of your creativity, though, I love these notebooks .

I’ve owned them in various colors and designs for years, going out of my way to replace my old ones with the same brand when they get full.

Buy one on the road!

While I definitely recommend keeping a travel journal from hour one (airports and train stations are great places to write!), there’s also something special about buying a diary on the road.

If you find a journal you love while you’re traveling, consider picking it up and journaling there from then on.

On Your Computer or Phone

I’ll admit, I’m very biased toward analog travel diary ideas–it’s just my style!

But if you prefer typing to writing, or you just don’t want the hassle of carrying a physical journal on the road, you can easily keep a detailed travel journal on your phone or laptop!

Evernote is a fantastic app for journaling on your phone, though a basic Notes app works fine too.

A Word document or Google Doc can work as well.

Alternatively, you can type and send emails to yourself and store them in a certain folder in your inbox!

There is no wrong way to keep a travel journal–whatever works for you, is more than fine.

That being said, based on my personal experience of keeping travel journals over the years, here’s my best advice for preserving your memories!

Try to write as often as possible.

Here’s the sad truth: you will forget much of your vacation.

Even if you remember the basics such as where you went, what you did, and who you were with, the passing years will steal the sensory details from your memory, jumble the order of events, and soften the edges of your stories, making it hard to recapture the emotions of your travel experience.

While some of that is the inevitable result of living a full, exciting life packed with beautiful memories, a travel journal can absolutely help preserve those experiences for you for decades to come.

The period of time that I was worst at keeping a travel journal– the first year of our full-time travels –is also the one where memories have faded the most.

It’s my #1 travel regret that I didn’t keep a detailed travel journal that year!

Imperfection is better than procrastination.

Don’t have time to write pages and pages?

Can’t find the right words to capture exactly how you felt seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time?

Don’t worry about it: a couple of sentences jotted down that afternoon while waiting for your coffee to arrive will capture your emotions far better than waiting weeks to find the right words.

Write what you can’t see.

Photographs and videos can do a lot to preserve visual and even auditory memory–but they can’t capture scents, or the feeling of the humidity lingering in the air, or how soft the dog you stopped to pet was, or the expression on the waiter’s face as you managed to order lunch in a language that you barely speak.

These kinds of recollections, paired with photos and videos, are invaluable for helping place you back in that moment of travel, even years after it has passed.

You don’t have to be a “good” writer.

Forget the English essays of your youth: whether you consider yourself a skilled writer or not, you can absolutely keep the world’s most perfect travel journal for yourself.

Because travel journaling is nothing but a conversation with your memory, and you know exactly how to talk to yourself!

It doesn’t matter if you wouldn’t want to publish it as a memoir or that other people wouldn’t understand what you’re trying to say, because you’re the only audience!

Trust me, as a professional writer of sorts, the things that I write publicly–even in more personal blog posts like this –are not nearly as unguarded as the conversations I have with myself when preserving my own travel memories.

Don’t edit yourself.

This goes somewhat with what I wrote about being a “good” writer, but it’s a solid tip for travel journaling even if you’re a very confident one.

Each of us sees the world in a completely unique way and will use entirely different experiences and criteria to jog our memories.

If none of the travel journal prompts in this blog post speak to you, ignore them.

Write about literally anything you like–anything that speaks to how you experienced your day.

The uniqueness of how we each see the world is never more obvious to me than when I compare the things that Jeremy writes in his travel journal to what I write in mine–many times, we each remember things that the other person didn’t even notice!

Save more than words.

Ticket stubs, brochures, boarding passes, postcards, even foreign currency–anything small and tactile that you can tuck into your travel journal is a fantastic addition.

If you print out any photos along the way or purchase any of the cheesy-but-fun souvenir photos for sale around the world, those can be great components of a travel diary, too.

Full maps are often too big to save in a traditional travel journal, but you can save them separately–or cut out your favorite section(s) and place them in your journal!

Sadly, the ink on receipts tends to fade within a couple of years, but you can try storing a few memorable ones for a while as well.

Depending on your travel journaling style and how much you collect, you may want to tape these extra items to individual pages or keep them tucked into a separate pouch (cheap and fun cloth zip pouches can be found at souvenir markets across the world–maybe you can buy one along the way!).

For something more fun than basic tape, buy a few souvenir stickers along the way and use those to secure your mementos to the page!

Avoid spiral notebooks.

If you want a very inexpensive place to save your memories, opt for a composition notebook over a spiral one–trust me.

Between the spirals being pulled out of place from being moved around so much during your adventures to the fact that they’ll scratch up anything they’re stored near (like your laptop, for example), they’re just not worth the trouble.

I learned this lesson the hard way and will never use a spiral notebook (without a cover, that is) for anything while traveling again!

Always keep your travel journal in your carry-on.

I’ll admit, I’ve broken this rule before, but it’s terrifying checking your travel journal–especially when, like my current one, it contains years worth of irreplaceable memories.

Much better to keep careful watch over it in your carry-on/hand luggage!

Wondering what exactly to write down in your travel diary?

These travel journal writing prompts will get you started!

Choose any of these travel journal topic examples from below and expand upon it in detail, and before you know it, you’ll find yourself jotting down details of memories that would otherwise be lost to time.

As always, the point of travel writing prompts like this isn’t to limit what you write–it’s to provide a jumping-off point.

If you find yourself veering off in a different direction after a few sentences, just roll with it!

What did you do today that you’ve never done before?

Make a list of everything you bought today, from food items to metro tickets.

Describe the most memorable person you interacted with today.

What was your favorite thing you ate today?

What new thing did you learn today? How did you learn it?

Describe your morning routine in detail: what was different from home?

What was your most memorable form of transport today?

What animals did you see or interact with today?

What was the weather like? How did it impact your day?

What were you wearing today? How did it impact your day?

Did you use any words in a language you don’t speak today? What were they?

What’s the big news where you are right now? Is it the same as at home?

What’s the funniest thing that happened today?

What’s the most memorable thing that you physically touched today?

What did you eat for breakfast?

Look up, and describe everything that you see in detail.

If you took a tour: describe your tour guide, including their name!

What did you do today that you didn’t expect to do before your trip?

What’s an interesting story or legend from your destination?

Describe your route from where you’re staying to your first destination of the day.

What’s your favorite word to say in the language of your destination?

What was your least favorite moment of the day?

What was the most surprising thing you saw today?

What interesting conversation did you overhear today?

None of these travel journal ideas or prompts speak to you?

Have something different in mind?

There’s no wrong way to keep a travel diary–whatever feels right when you’re on the road, that’s the best travel journal for you.

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About Kate Storm

In May 2016, I left my suburban life in the USA and became a full-time traveler. Since then, I have visited 50+ countries on 5 continents and lived in Portugal, developing a special love of traveling in Europe (especially Italy) along the way. Today, along with my husband Jeremy and dog Ranger, I’m working toward my eventual goal of splitting my life between Europe and the USA.

1 thought on “33 Terrific Travel Journal Ideas, Tips + Prompts!”

Thanks for posting this up , this is a very informative article surely.

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Great Travel Writing Examples from World Renowned Travel Writers

Are you ready to be a better travel writer? One of the best ways to do this is to read great travel writing examples from great travel writers.

Writing about travel in a way that keeps your reader reading is not always easy. Knowing how to write an irresistible first paragraph to entice the reader to keep reading is key. Writing a lede paragraph that convinces the reader to finish the article, story or book is great travel writing.  This article features travel writing examples from award-winning travel writers, top-selling books, New York Times travel writers, and award-winning travel blogs.

Ads are how we pay our bills and keep our blog free for you to enjoy. We also use affiliate links; if you make a purchase through them, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you.

The writers featured in this article are some of my personal favorite travel writers. I am lucky to have met most of them in person and even luckier to consider many friends. Many I have interviewed on my podcast and have learned writing tips from their years of travel writing, editing and wisdom.

11 Great Travel Writing Examples

Writing with feeling, tone, and point of view creates a compelling story. Below are examples of travel writing that include; first paragraphs, middle paragraphs, and final paragraphs for both travel articles as well as travel books.

I hope the below examples of travel writing inspire you to write more, study great travel writing and take your writing to a higher level.

Writing Example of a Travel Book Closing Paragraphs

Don George is the author of the award-winning anthology The Way of Wanderlust: The Best Travel Writing of Don George , and the best-selling travel writing guide in the world: How to Be a Travel Writer .

He is currently Editor at Large for National Geographic Travel, and has been Travel Editor at the San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle, Salon, and Lonely Planet.

I had the wonderful opportunity to see Don speak at Tbex and read from one of his books as well as interview him on the Break Into Travel Writing podcast. You can listen to the full podcast here .

Below is the closing of Don’s ebook: Wanderlust in the Time of Coronavirus: Dispatches from a Year of Traveling Close to Home

I continued hiking up to Lost Trail and then along Canopy View Trail. Around noon I serendipitously came upon a bench by the side of the trail, parked my backpack, and unpacked my lunch. Along with my sandwiches and carrot sticks, I feasted on the tranquility and serenity, the sequoia-swabbed purity of the air, the bird and brook sounds and sun-baked earth and pine needle smells, the sunlight slanting through the branches, the bright patch of blue sky beyond.

At one point I thought of shinrin-yoku, forest bathing, the Japanese practice that has become widely popular in the U.S. This was a perfect example of shinrin-yoku, I thought: Here I am, alone in this forest, immersed in the sense and spirit of these old-growth redwoods, taking in their tranquility and timelessness, losing myself to their sheer size and age and their wild wisdom that fills the air.

I sat there for an hour, and let all the trials, tremors, and tribulations of the world I had left in the parking lot drift away. I felt grounded, calm, quiet—earth-bound, forest-embraced.

In another hour, or two, I would walk back to the main paved trail, where other pilgrims would be exclaiming in awe at the sacred sequoias, just as I had earlier that day.

But for now, I was content to root right here, on this blessed bench in the middle of nowhere, or rather, in the middle of everywhere, the wind whooshing through me, bird-chirps strung from my boughs, toes spreading under scratchy pine needles into hard-packed earth, sun-warmed canopy reaching for the sky, aging trunk textured by time, deep-pulsing, in the heart of Muir Woods.

• You can read the whole story here: Old Growth: Hiking into the Heart of Muir Woods
• Please also download Don’s free ebook here:  Wanderlust in the Time of Coronavirus
• In addition to writing and editing, Don speaks at conferences, lectures on tours around the world, and teaches travel writing workshops through www.bookpassage.com .

Writing Example of a Travel Book Intro Paragraphs

Francis tapon.

Francis Tapon , author of Hike Your Own Hike and The Hidden Europe , also created a TV series and book called The Unseen Africa, which is based on his five-year journey across all 54 African countries.

He is a three-time TEDx speaker. His social media username is always FTapon. I interviewed Francis on the Break Into Travel Writing podcast about “How to Find An Original Point of View as a Travel Writer “. You can listen to the full podcast here .

Below is the opening of Francis’ book, The Hidden Europe:

“This would be a pretty lousy way to die,” I thought.

I was locked in an outhouse with no way out. Outhouses sometimes have two latches—one on the outside and one on the inside. The outside latch keeps the door shut to prevent rodents and other creatures who like hanging out in crap from coming in. Somehow, that outer latch accidentally closed, thereby locking me in this smelly toilet. I was wearing a thin rain jacket. The temperature was rapidly dropping.

“This stinks,” I mumbled. It was midnight, I was above the Arctic Circle, and the temperatures at night would be just above freezing. There was no one around for kilometers. If I didn’t get out, I could freeze to death in this tiny, smelly, fly-infested shithole.

My mom would kill me if I died so disgracefully. She would observe that when Elvis died next to a toilet, he was in Graceland. I, on the other hand, was in Finland, not far from Santa Claus. This Nordic country was a jump board for visiting all 25 nations in Eastern Europe.

You can find his book on Amazon: The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us

For $2 a month, you can get Francis’ book as he writes it: Patreon.com/ftapon

Intro (Lede) Paragraph Examples of Great Travel Writing Articles

Michele peterson.

Former banking executive Michele Peterson is a multi-award-winning travel and food writer who divides her time between Canada, Guatemala, and Mexico (or the nearest tropical beach).

Former banking executive Michele Peterson is a multi-award-winning travel and food writer who divides her time between Canada, Guatemala, and Mexico (or the nearest tropical beach). Her writing has appeared in Lonely Planet’s Mexico from the Source cookbook, National Geographic Traveler, Conde Nast’s Gold List, the Globe and Mail, Fifty-five Plus and more than 100 other online and print publications.

She blogs about world cuisine and sun destinations at A Taste for Travel website. I met Michele on my first media trip that took place in Nova Scotia, Canada. I also had the pleasure of interviewing about “ Why the Odds are in Your Favor if you Want to Become a Travel Writer” . You can listen to the full podcast here .

Michele’s Lede Paragraph Travel Writing Example

I’m hiking through a forest of oak trees following a farmer who is bleating like a pied piper. Emerging from a gully is a herd of black Iberian pigs, snuffling in response. If they weren’t so focused on following the swineherd, I would run for the hills. These pigs look nothing like the pink-cheeked Babe of Hollywood fame.

These are the world’s original swine, with lineage dating back to the Paleolithic Stone Age period where the earliest humans decorated Spain’s caves with images of wild boars. Their powerful hoofs stab the earth as they devour their prized food, the Spanish bellota acorn, as fast as the farmer can shake them from the tree with his long wooden staff. My experience is part of a culinary journey exploring the secrets of producingjamón ibérico de Bellota, one of the world’s finest hams.

You can read the full article here: Hunting for Jamón in Spain

Perry Garfinkel

Perry Garfinkel has been a journalist and author for an unbelievable 40 years, except for some years of defection into media/PR communications and consulting.

He is a contributor to The New York Times since the late ’80s, writing for many sections and departments. He has been an editor for, among others, the Boston Globe, the Middlesex News, and the Martha’s Vineyard Times.

He’s the author of the national bestseller “ Buddha or Bust: In Search of the Truth, Meaning, Happiness and the Man Who Found Them All ” and “ Travel Writing for Profit and Pleasure “.

Perry has been a guest on my podcast twice. He gave a “ Master Class in Travel Writing ” you can listen to the full podcast here . He also shared “ How to Find Your Point Of View as a Travel Writer ” you can listen to the full episode here .

Perry’s Lede Travel Article Example from the New York Times

SAN FRANCISCO — A block off Grant Avenue in San Francisco’s Chinatown – beyond the well-worn path tourists take past souvenir shops, restaurants and a dive saloon called the Buddha Bar – begins a historical tour of a more spiritual nature. Duck into a nondescript doorway at 125 Waverly Place, ascend five narrow flights and step into the first and oldest Buddhist temple in the United States.

At the Tien Hau Temple, before an intricately carved gilded wooden shrine and ornate Buddha statues, under dozens of paper lanterns, Buddhists in the Chinese tradition still burn pungent incense and leave offerings to the goddess Tien Hau in return for the promise of happiness and a long life.

You can read the full article here: Taking a Buddhist pilgrimage in San Francisco

Elaine Masters

Elaine Masters apologizes for pissing off fellow travelers while tracking story ideas, cultural clues, and inspiring images but can’t resist ducking in doorways or talking with strangers.

She’s recently been spotted driving her hybrid around the North American West Coast and diving cenotes in the Yucatan. Founder of Tripwellgal.com, Elaine covers mindful travel, local food, overlooked destinations and experiences. Elaine was a guest on my podcast where we spoke about “ How to Master the CVB Relationship “. You can listen to the full podcast here .

Elaine’s Lede Example

I jiggered my luggage onto the escalator crawling up to the street. As it rose into the afternoon light, an immense shadow rose over my shoulder. Stepping onto the sidewalk, I burst into giggles, looking like a madwoman, laughing alone on the busy Barcelona boulevard.  The shadow looming overhead was the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. It had mesmerized me forty years earlier and it was the reason I’d finally returned to Spain.

You can read the full article here: Don’t Miss Going Inside Sagrada Familia, Barcelona’s Beloved Cathedral

Along with his wife, photographer Mary Gabbett, Bret Love is the Co-Founder/Editor In Chief of Green Global Travel and the Blue Ridge Mountains Travel Guide.

He’s also an award-winning writer whose work has been featured by more than 100 publications around the world, including National Geographic, Rolling Stone, American Way, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.

Bret’s Lede Example

Congo Square is quiet now. Traffic forms a dull drone in the distance. A lone percussionist taps out ancient tribal rhythms on a two-headed drum. An air compressor from Rampart Street road construction provides perfectly syncopated whooshes of accompaniment.

Shaded park benches are surrounded by blooming azaleas, magnolias, and massive live oaks that stretch to provide relief from the blazing midday sun. It’s an oasis of solitude directly across the street from the French Quarter.

Congo Square is quiet now. But it’s here that the seeds of American culture as we know it were sown more than 200 years ago. And the scents, sounds, and sights that originated here have never been more vital to New Orleans than they are now, more than a decade after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.

You can read the full article here: Treme, New Orleans (How Congo Square Was The Birthplace Of American Culture)

Middle Paragraph Examples of Great Travel Writing Articles

Mariellen ward.

Canadian travel writer and blogger Mariellen Ward runs the award-winning travel site Breathedreamgo.com , inspired by her extensive travels in India.

She has been published in leading media outlets worldwide and offers custom tours to India through her company India for Beginners. Though Canadian by birth, Mariellen considers India to be her “soul culture” and she is passionate about encouraging mindful travel.

Mariellen’s Middle Paragraph Example

While the festival atmosphere swirled around me, I imbued my  diya with hope for personal transformation. I had come to India because a river of loss had run through my life, and I had struggled with grief, despair and depression for eight years. I felt I was clinging to the bank, but the effort was wearing me out. Deciding to leave my life and go to India was like letting go of the bank and going with the flow of the river. I had no idea where it would lead me, what I would learn or how I would change. I only knew that it was going to be big.

You can read the full article here: The River: A tale of grief and healing in India

Joe Baur is an author and filmmaker from Cleveland currently based in Berlin. His work has appeared in a variety of international publications, including BBC Travel, National Geographic, and Deutsche Welle.

He regularly reports for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and is the author of Talking Tico detailing his year of living in Costa Rica and traveling around Central America. I interviewed Joe about “ How to Find Unique Travel Stories “. You can listen to the full podcast here .

Joe Baur’s Middle Paragraph Example

I first became aware of the Harz mountains and the Brocken when reading the works of some of Germany’s great writers, like Goethe and Heinrich Heine. Legends of witches congregating with the devil being the main theme of the mountain’s mythology. I, however, was more interested in a refreshing time spent in nature rather than reveling with the devil.

The first stage from Osterode to Buntenbock was a warm-up to the more rigorous stages ahead. It began on sidewalks before sliding into the forest sporting a healthy shade of green — a gentle jaunt that made my hiking boots feel a bit like overkill given the dry, pleasant weather.

You can read the full article here: Follow the witch through the forest: 5 days hiking Germany’s Harz

Samantha Shea

Samantha is a freelance travel writer with bylines in Matador Network, GoNomad and more. She also runs the travel blog Intentional Detours which provides thorough guides and tales related to offbeat adventure travel in South Asia and beyond.

When she’s not writing she enjoys cycling, hiking, the beach, as well as language learning.

Samantha Shea’s Middle Paragraph Example

Suddenly, the spark of a match pulsed through the early-fall afternoon and my head snapped towards the men. Amir touched the flame to an unidentifiable object that seconds later made itself known by the deep earthy scent of Pakistani hashish.

Amir’s ice blue eyes focused intently on his creation: a combination of tobacco and nuggets of greenish-brown charas. He forced the mixture back into the cigarette, before bringing it to his pursed lips, flicking the match, and setting flame to his high.

I reached out from the cot to take my turn and took a deep inhale, acutely pleased. I savored the familiar burn of the drag, the rows and rows of corn and apple plants in front of me, the stuttered cacophony of animal exclamations behind me, and the generosity of the men to my left, some of whom we had just met an hour before.

You can read the full article here: Thall Tales: A Hazy Afternoon in Thall, Pakistan

Final Paragraph Example of Great Travel Writing Articles

Cassie bailey.

Cassie is a travel writer who has solo backpacked around Asia and the Balkans, and is currently based in Auckland. Alongside in-depth destination guides, her blog has a particular focus on storytelling, mental health, and neurodiversity.

Cassie’s Final Paragraphs Example

So my goal is to feel, I guess. And I don’t mean that in a dirty way (although obvz I do mean that in a dirty way too). This is why we travel, right? To taste crazy new foods and to feel the sea breeze against our skin or the burn on the back of our legs on the way down a mountain. We want to feel like shite getting off night buses at 4am and the sting of mosquito bites. We know we’re going to feel lost or frustrated or overwhelmed but we do it anyway. Because we know it’s worth it for the ecstasy of seeing a perfect view or making a new connection or finding shitty wine after a bad day.

My goal is never to become numb to all of this. To never kid myself into settling for less than everything our bodies allow us to perceive. I’m after the full human experience; every bit, every feeling.

You can read the full article here: Goals inspired by life as a solo backpacker

Lydia Carey

Lydia Carey is a freelance writer and translator based out of Mexico City who spends her time mangling the Spanish language, scouring the country for true stories and “researching” every taco stand in her neighborhood.

She is the author of “ Mexico City Streets: La Roma ,” a guide to one of Mexico City’s most eclectic neighborhoods and she chronicles her life in the city on her blog MexicoCityStreets.com .

Lydia’s Final Paragraphs Example

Guys from the barrio huddle around their motorcycles smoking weed and drinking forties. Entire families, each dressed as St. Jude, eat tacos al pastor and grilled corn on a stick. Police stand at a distance, keeping an eye on the crowd but trying not to get too involved.

After this celebration, many of the pilgrims will travel on to Puebla where they will visit some of the religious relics on display in the San Judas church there. But many more will simply go back to their trades—legal and illegal—hoping that their attendance will mean that San Judas protects them for another year, and that he has their back in this monster of a city.

You can read the full article here: San Judas de Tadeo: Mexico’s Defender of Lost Causes

I hope you enjoyed these examples of travel writing and they have inspired you to want to write more and write better! The next article that will be published is a follow-up to this and will include travel writing examples from my first travel writing teacher, Amanda Castleman. This article will include travel writing tips from Amanda and travel writing examples from her students as well as one from her own writing.

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Alexa Meisler is the editorial director of 52 Perfect Days. Born in Paris, France she has since lived in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. She currently resides in San Diego with her husband and son where they enjoy exploring California and Mexico.

Travel has always been a part of her life; traveling to such places as Morocco, Tangiers and Spain as a young child as well as taking many road trips to Mexico with her grandparents as a young girl. Since then, she has traveled abroad to locations such as Russia, Taiwan and throughout Europe.

Prior to working at 52 Perfect Days she was a freelance travel writer; focusing on family and women’s adventure experiences.

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16 Travel-Writing Prompts

SHARON’S BLOG Are you a homebody or do you love to gallivant? To gallivant is to travel, wander, or globetrot. Does that sound like you?

Whatever you happen to be, you can use these 16 writing prompts to become an armchair traveler and see the world right from where you are. You might even be inspired to plan a real-life trip!

Suitable for 5th – 12th graders.

1. You’ve just landed in exotic Bora Bora . Send a postcard home to your family. What do you say? 2. Around the world in 180 days? You’ll need a packing list. What will you bring? 3. You’re backpacking across mountainous Nepal . What’s in your backpack? 4. You and your mission team just landed in Haiti. Make a list of all the items lost between America and Haiti and what you hope to find there. 5. You’re going on a 5-country tour of Europe: France, Italy, England, Germany, and Austria. What do you eat? What’s in your food journal? 6. You’re traveling to Mexico, but you don’t speak any Spanish. Describe your interaction with locals. How will you ask about food and other necessities? 7. Write a letter home to your best friend describing what you miss about home. 8. You’re getting ready to take historic Route 66 cross-country (USA). What advice does your mom or dad give you? 9. You’re going to be on a long flight. What books will you load on your tablet or bring with you? What music will you load on your music player? 10. You want one kind of a vacation and your family wants another. Make a list of things to say to them to convince them to go where you want to go. 11. You are taking a cruise to Alaska and the Arctic Circle. List the things you hope to see there and what you hope you do not see. 12. You’re taking a cruise with your best friend, but when you arrive at the ship you find it’s a senior citizen cruise. Describe your first day. 13. Describe getting lost while visiting the island of Buton . 14. You just got home. Make a list of all the things you’ll miss from your trip. 15. You’re traveling to see your grandma. You’re a new driver and your mom is letting you do the driving. Describe your anticipation. 16. En route to your destination, your flight is cancelled and you are stuck in the airport for 34 hours. Write a journal entry describing the situation.

Something extra for moms and teachers: If you are planning a trip this summer, use this fun printable travel journal ! 

Explore our fun writing prompts for your middle school students here. >>

Your teens will enjoy these engaging prompts. >>

Find more prompts geared for both age groups here. >>

Prompt by Gina Glenn. Copyright © 2017 by Sharon Watson

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any tips for writing road trips?

How to write a road trip

For a road trip there are a few things to consider that change how you go about it:

• Just wanting to have a road trip
• Is there a specific place they need to go to?
• What is going to wait for them at the end?
• If there is a specific place, they need to be at they should take the direct route there
• If it’s just for fun they can go and stop in any direction whenever they want
• You can include some obstacles, like road blocks, traffic jams, construction sites, getting lost, etc.
• If you use actual places, try to figure out the time it takes to get from point A to point B

Sleeping arrangements

• A few options: in the car, in a tent, in a motel
• Depends on where they are, their budget and the weather
• How many people are in the car?
• What is their relationship?
• Are they carefree and happy or is there tension between them?

Plot points

• The plot is like a road trip itself - it moves from one point to another and then ends at a point you choose
• So, you can choose different stations during the trip to include different plot points and further the plot
• Maybe something major always happens when they have to stay in the car with nowhere else to go
• Maybe they only have important conversations at night

End of the trip

• You should interconnect the end of the trip with the end of the plot you wanted to get across
• It’s like reaching the destination in both aspects
• That makes for the most satisfying end for the reader

Road Trip Ideas

• picnic at the side of the road
• quick bathroom breaks
• having a snack stock pile
• homemade sandwiches
• getting lost
• fights about which way to go
• being stuck in traffic
• the perfect road trip playlist
• and still fighting over the music
• phone batteries being dangerously low and no way to charge them
• trying to read an actual paper map
• packing too many useless things
• while forgetting something important
• looking out for places to sleep
• contemplating if the creepy motel is worth it
• sleeping in the car, uncomfortable in all the wrong places
• sleeping under the starry sky
• not seeing a single soul for miles
• randomly stopping at interesting things
• watching the sun set and rise again
• measuring time with McDonald's signs they see
• visiting small towns
• coming across ghost towns
• exploring the remnants of civilization
• arriving at their destination feeling either more connected to each other or farther away from each other

I hope you enjoy this and have fun writing it!

@ creativepromptsforwriting / creativepromptsforwriting.tumblr.com

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Write a Good Travel Essay. Please.

Kathleen Boardman

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Editor’s Note: We know that many of you are looking for help writing travel experience essays for school or simply writing about a trip for your friends or family. To inspire you and help you write your next trip essay—whether it’s an essay about a trip with family or simply a way to remember your best trip ever (so far)—we enlisted the help of Professor Kathleen Boardman, whose decades of teaching have helped many college students learn the fine art of autobiography and life writing. Here’s advice on how to turn a simple “my best trip” essay into a story that will inspire others to explore the world.

Welcome home! Now that you’re back from your trip, you’d like to share it with others in a travel essay. You’re a good writer and a good editor of your work, but you’ve never tried travel writing before. As your potential reader, I have some advice and some requests for you as you write your travel experience essay.

Trip Essays: What to Avoid

Please don’t tell me everything about your trip. I don’t want to know your travel schedule or the names of all the castles or restaurants you visited. I don’t care about the plane trip that got you there (unless, of course, that trip is the story).

I have a friend who, when I return from a trip, never asks me, “How was your trip?” She knows that I would give her a long, rambling answer: “… and then … and then … and then.” So instead, she says, “Tell me about one thing that really stood out for you.” That’s what I’d like you to do in this travel essay you’re writing.

The Power of Compelling Scenes

One or two “snapshots” are enough—but make them great. Many good writers jump right into the middle of their account with a vivid written “snapshot” of an important scene. Then, having aroused their readers’ interest or curiosity, they fill in the story or background. I think this technique works great for travel writing; at least, I would rather enjoy a vivid snapshot than read through a day-to-day summary of somebody’s travel journal.

Write About a Trip Using Vivid Descriptions

Take your time. Tell a story. So what if you saw things that were “incredible,” did things that were “amazing,” observed actions that you thought “weird”? These words don’t mean anything to me unless you show me, in a story or a vivid description, the experience that made you want to use those adjectives.

I’d like to see the place, the people, or the journey through your eyes, not someone else’s. Please don’t rewrite someone else’s account of visiting the place. Please don’t try to imitate a travel guide or travelogue or someone’s blog or Facebook entry. You are not writing a real travel essay unless you are describing, as clearly and honestly as possible, yourself in the place you visited. What did you see, hear, taste, say? Don’t worry if your “take” on your experience doesn’t match what everyone else says about it. (I’ve already read what THEY have to say.)

The Importance of Self-Editing Your Trip Essay

Don’t give me your first draft to read. Instead, set it aside and then reread it. Reread it again. Where might I need more explanation? What parts of your account are likely to confuse me? (After all, I wasn’t there.) Where might you be wasting my time by repeating or rambling on about something you’ve already told me?

Make me feel, make me laugh, help me learn something. But don’t overdo it: Please don’t preach to me about broadening my horizons or understanding other cultures. Instead, let me in on your feelings, your change of heart and mind, even your fear and uncertainty, as you confronted something you’d never experienced before. If you can, surprise me with something I didn’t know or couldn’t have suspected.

You Can Do It: Turning Your Trip into a Great Travel Experience Essay

I hope you will take yourself seriously as a traveler and as a writer. Through what—and how—you write about just a small portion of your travel experience, show me that you are an interesting, thoughtful, observant person. I will come back to you, begging for more of your travel essays.

Take Notes in a Cute Journal

Keep track of all the crucial details- and even the ones you might forget, in a durable and refillable journal.

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Independence Day Creative Writing Prompt #2: Road Trip Adventure

Invite your learners to dive into the world of creative writing with this fun Independence Day writing prompt! Using the prompt as a jumping off point, students are invited to write a creative story about a perplexing scene while on a family road trip. Writers are asked to include interesting characters, a plot with a clear conflict and resolution, and descriptive language to tell the reader about the characters, setting, and events.

Ideal for students in fourth through eighth grade, this imaginative writing prompt offers a fun and seasonal opportunity to practice creative writing and storytelling skills.

Be sure to check out the Independence Day Creative Writing Prompt #1: Fantastic Fireworks  and Summer Creative Writing Prompt #1: Secrets of the Sand worksheets for more summer-themed writing inspiration.

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Maine Lobster Festival, Smashing Pumpkins and actress Kathleen Turner are all here this weekend

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Still from Cat Video Fest. Contributed/Cat Video Fest

Hello, August!

The dog days are summer are here, so let’s celebrate with the Cat Video Fest at Portland Museum of Art and Strand Theatre. Or head to the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland. Those are just a few of the choices in this week’s events roundup .

Maine Lobster Festival, Wild Blueberry Weekend and Lyle Divinsky

Lily Philbrook, Kathleen Turner and Colin Anderson in the Ogunquit Playhouse production of “A Little Night Music.” Photo by Nile Scott Studios

Actress Kathleen Turner is one of the stars of “A Little Night Music” at Ogunquit Playhouse,  playing through Aug. 17. You’ll recognize her from her many film roles, including “Peggy Sue Got Married,” or maybe as Chandler Bing’s father in “Friends.” Here’s an interview with Turner, who unpacks how she got the role and how the show is going.

Actress Kathleen Turner, now performing in Ogunquit, on being in her first musical

Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins in Memphis, Tennessee in 2022. L Paul Mann/Shutterstock.com

There are still tickets left to see The Beach Boys at Snow Pond Center for the Arts in Sidney on Friday and the Smashing Pumpkins at Maine Savings Amphitheatre on Sunday. We’ve got details on these and dozens of other upcoming concerts .

See The Beach Boys or Smashing Pumpkins in Maine this weekend

Styx. Left to right Todd Sucherman, Lawrence Gowan, Chuck Panozzo, James “JY” Young, Tommy Shaw, Terry Gowan and Will Evankovich. Photo by Jason Powell

Two other notable shows are Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads) with Adrian Belew tonight in Portland and Styx with Foreigner on Saturday in Bangor. Here are interviews with Harrison and Lawrence Gowan from Styx. Tickets are still available for both shows.

Members of Talking Heads, Styx and Foreigner all perform in Maine this week

Twin Tin ice cream sandwich. Photo by Peggy Grodinsky

Sweeten up your weekend with a quintessential summer treat. The Twin Tin Ice Cream Sandwich combines ice cream from Twin Swirls with cookies from neighbor Tin Pan Bakery. Find them at the ice cream shop on Brighton Avenue in Portland.

Twin Tin Ice Cream Sandwich is the taste of summer

Hazy IPAs from Allagash, Fogtown and Rising Tide. Photo by Ben Lisle

Fans of hazy IPAs have reason to celebrate because Allagash has finally come out with its own take on the style. Want more options? Beer writer Ben Lisle also recommends a couple from Fogtown and Rising Tide. Read his tasting notes on all three.

Allagash has finally joined the hazy IPA party, and it was worth the wait

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