Writing on the road

(photo of La Garita Wilderness)

This week, my family and I will embark on a 12-day road trip through western Colorado. Stops will include:

• The Flat Tops Wilderness
• Glenwood Springs
• Aspen
• Marble
• Paonia
• Telluride
• Mesa Verde
• Durango
• Weminuche Wilderness
• La Garita Wilderness
• The Great Sand Dunes
• The Royal Gorge
• Cripple Creek

My challenge will be to continue writing without disrupting our family vacation. Also, I hope to move forward with the online novel writing class. I am scheduled to submit the first 5,000 words of my novel on August 8 for review by my classmates.

I plan to write on my laptop and communicate with my class via Iphone. I have a converter that will allow me to plug my laptop into the cigarette lighter. Ideally, I will rise early and write while my wife and kids sleep. Perhaps I can also get some writing done during drive time (laptop perched upon the steering column???) Maybe my wife should drive...

Vacations have always been a period of renewed creative energy for me. Whether it is the change of routine, the extra sleep, or the new sights and sounds, my mind seems to wake up when I leave home. Hopefully, this trip will be no different.

Early in my marriage, my wife and I joined her parents for a week on the Gulf of Mexico. I was working on a recording of my songs at the time and had been stuck on lyrics for months. I found inspiration on the beach and wrote most of the lyrics for my record that week.

Likewise, I have done some of my best writing in ski lodges, airports, hotel lobbies, and the like.

Come to think of it, those same times have served to renew my relationship with my wife. Maybe she's the reason I feel inspired.

Here's to dramatic vistas, effortless narrative, and sharing a tent with my wife.