Writing while on vacation

Literature & Writing Writer's Block
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Hi,

Not sure at the moment, but maybe this year I will be able to take some days of vacations. After so many years. A luxury vacation: I’ll probably go in a camping with a new, technologically advanced tent.

I plan to sleep some twenty hours a day, go to the local bar, and then be back to sleep again. But I might even find some time to write.

The first idea was to bring with me a foldable keyboard, or even a majestic Apple Wireless, and write with Scrivener on my phone. Or another app allowing for full screen, and letting me see as many lines of text as possible without UI elements always staring at me and telling me how much I’ve written, and insisting that I can share my writing when I’ve finally decided to finish it.

Then, a different idea. What about a pen and a block of blank paper? Write slow, undo by scribbling, stick notes to self by writing in small characters wherever they fit between the lines. When back at home, dictate it and revise in Scrivener. Transcribe what you dictated to the phone, or correct what your phone transcribed for you.

A vacation without electronic devices, apart a phone used as a dictaphone and a lamp to find your sleeping bag in the tent. Could it work?

Paolo

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Sounds like a good plan. Happy camping.

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Can’t hurt to bring the foldable keyboard, too. Just in case it doesn’t work.

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You could go full Nabokov and just bring those jumbo-large index cards and a pen or two. Much more wieldy than a ream of paper. (Also buy a pack of normal index cards and slip a few in your pocket when you head to the pub. That’s four hours and words can strike without warning.)

P.S. If your tent is big enough that you need a lamp to find your sleeping bag, you are probably also going to want a few camels to haul all your gear. And maybe a companion to occupy some of that darn space, for you will be out in Nature and Nature abhors a vacuum.

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Seriously, if you are going to handwrite on loose paper or in a full-size notebook, take a ruler and draw a vertical line three inches from the right side of the page – on every page. Only write on the left. The three inch margin is for corrections, annotations, notes to self, etc.

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Fantastic idea! This, or a variation of Nabokov’s way.

Another great idea. But not a real ruler: contrary to Nature, I abhor crowded space. I want a perfectly blank page in front of me, with only my lines of text quietly filling it. Like a spring, not a flood. But I can let the ruler sit on the page from time to time, to remember me to let space for revisions.

Quite small, to be true. Not ideal for backpacking, but the essential for camping. Many recent tents are conceived so that nor light, neither heath can enter them. Here in the Mediterranean area this is a genial bless. And if you keep a camp bed inside, you can experience the joy of banging your pinky against a corner.

It’s a place where I have sort of a network of relations. There is room for everybody, there.

Paolo

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As someone that travels for a living…. And goes to dedicated writing retreats every so often, I can offer some general advice for you about digital writing.

First, do not wait until you are there to test your desired setup. Don’t squander your vacation time by diagnosing and troubleshooting when you’d rather be writing.

Second, less is not always more. Taking an Apple wireless keyboard you are comfortable with for use with your phone is a solid idea, but you might be setting yourself up for eyestrain. For mobile writing where I don’t want to dig out my MacBook I use a iPad with a keyboard case. I also have downloaded movies and music to said iPad too, and it works good for that, especially when paired with headphones.

Third, make sure you can charge anything with a battery. Don’t count on having access to wall-power all the time either. A 20Amp/hr battery pack (usually marketed as 20,000mA/hr) is perfect for phone, headphones, and keyboard.

Fourth, a phone or table stand is a must.

Fifth, folding keyboards are a crapshoot. Some are good, connect and reconnect easily, and are nice to have, others are garbage. I have a phone-sized keyboard with case that doubles as a stand. It takes a little getting used to and it wasn’t that expensive on Amazon.

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If you’d rather be seen as neo-erudite hipster, then they make keyboards with an integrated device holder such as this one.

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But it’s expensive, and bulky to try and pack.

The biggest thing I can suggest is try out what you want to take with you, learn how it behaves when it connects, disconnects, and reconnects. And bringing paper and implements is a great backup idea. Since you mentioned a tent, see if you can get one or more ziplock baggies large enough to fit your writing kit in. If it starts to rain you’ll want the protection, but it doubles as organizational too.

And lastly, the sin I keep committing, don’t pack too much gear. I never use it all, and I’m always missing something anyway.

Share pics, sounds like fun.

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iPhone App - Use cases
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@Dain good advice, but I have to disagree on this one:

There’s no such thing as too much gear. That’s not your issue. You’re just a disorganized packer. :see_no_evil_monkey:

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Whats wrong with the French method? ‘Le Pile’ has worked for me!

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Then why are you always missing something? :eyes:

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Pernicious pixies, greedy gremlins, rebellious redcaps, horrible hobgoblins, and bereft buggane! But mostly its whoever-it-is that likes to disturb my carefully curated piles for some unhelpful reason, like cleaning!

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You are right. I’m advantaged by the fact that I’ve already traveled with a minimal setup in the past, when I could rent a home on the mountains. But camping is more extreme, so I want to reduce everything to the absolutely bare minimum.

That’s why I’ll test the keyboard + phone solution. The phone is a device that must be always with me. My iPhone 13 mini, with a writing app capable of full screen view, can do a 40 characters x 9 lines of readable text. Or 30 x 8 of very comfortable-to-read text.

In the past I’ve used the iPad mini. It’s more comfortable, it will let me see more text, but it will be one more device to take care of, carry with me, recharge. Do I really need the additional space? I must see if I can feel comfortable with the smaller page.

(My old portable typewriter, an Olivetti Lettera 35, is on a high shelf, but I’m curious to see how many lines of text one could read while typing. I remember the sheet of paper was usually folding toward the back, therefore minimizing the readable lines; but there were a couple of small bars that could keep it vertical, offering a much larger readable area).

Easy to carry around. However, I don’t like the ergonomics of the notebook keyboard + display configuration. I like to move the display farther from the keyboard. As a touch-typist, I don’t need them to be one next to the other, and prefer to keep my neck in a healthier position.

If I choose the phone, its booklet-like case should be a decent stand. If I find it too low, maybe I can find a small, pocketable phone stand.

Paolo

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(Just done a stupid test. Writing by pen and paper takes nearly double the time it takes to type the same text on the foldable keyboard. This modern technology is stunning!)

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What? That’s crazy talk. You need to get a faster pen.

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How are you going to regularly recharge your devices when you are off the grid?

BTW, where will you be camping?

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But they don’t need recharging.

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Still thinking about it. I will likely have to get my car each couple days, so I can recharge from the car radio’s USB port. Or I could get a small power bank to be recharged with that port.

Ten years ago a earthquake devastated my second village, the one where I’ve spent most of my summers. In the subsequent years, national politics devastated any hope of rebuilding, as we had done since the night of times.

Since a few years, reconstructions is finally ongoing. Semi-clandestinely, a camping I used to go frequently has reopened. It’s in a fantastic position just in face of a mountain that has a lot of a sacred feeling.

It used to be a great camping. I used to plant my tent under wild black cherry trees. Going down to the village was just one hour of walk in the woods, going though a beautifully restored medieval walled borgo. At night I had wild boars exploring the surroundings. One morning I awoke very early, and could say good morning to a majestic deer.

The camping is inside the Sibillini Mountains National Park, a place that I recommend to visit to anyone taking unbeaten paths when visiting Italy.

(Sorry for the incredibly low-quality official web sites).

Well, maybe you do!

Paolo

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Though I love fountain pens and have several, plus a collection of Iroshizuko Inks I don’t think it would be a good idea to bring them camping, when there are so many other simpler and less potentially messy choices. But then again, I do love writing with a good fountain pen.

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One thing I noticed is that my writing has noticibly degraded over the decades because of using a computer. I looked at notes I had taken in the 80s and was amazed at how good and clear my hand writng was. And I was dismayed that my writing had become so bad that I could no longer read my notes. Who knows what genius ideas are locked in those chicken scratches? Anyway, I then determined to take steps to improve my penmanship so that I could read my notes. My penmanship has improved significantly, it is not calligraphy but it is legible and getting better.

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If you can find them the German company Lamy makes really good basic fountain pens. As things go they are cheap and robust, intended for learners and such. The Safari line would be a good camping companion because of its nice feel and ABS construction. I have several and they perform well.

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