How Traveling Can Improve Your Writing Skills as an Author
Jasmine Clemente is a Bestselling Author, RYT500 Yoga Teacher, and Spiritual Guide for women on the cusp of profound transformation. Through the ancient wisdom of yoga, the power of storytelling, and the sacred act of journaling, Jasmine empowers women on their self-healing journey.
You don’t have to be a travel writer to explore new territory as a creative artist. Whether you’re working on a book, a screenplay, or any artistic project, there’s an enchanting energy that comes with stepping into a new world, which inevitably finds its way into your work.
I wrote my memoir, More Than One Soulmate, while staying at a glamping tent in Tulum, Mexico, never imagining it would later become an Amazon bestseller in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico Travel category. That unexpected momentum inspired me to fly into Costa Rica to begin writing the next book I’m currently working on. There’s such an abundance of magic I tap into whenever I drastically change environments. It’s as if our passport books hold stories waiting for us, not one we need to invent, but ones we’re meant to live each time we dare to have it stamped.
If you’re someone who already has a favorite café or home base where you create your best work, I encourage you to switch it up a little by visiting a new place. It just might bring it to a whole new level.
Choosing the travel destination
Whether it’s Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, or the Middle East, everyone will have their own North Star to follow. For some, it might mean staying inside your own country while exploring a different state. There are plenty of city folks who drive up to the countryside, and that’s enough for them. There’s no pressure, there’s just a call to answer. In fact, you can search the internet for writer’s retreats that are held inside woodside cabins to gain support from other writers, or perhaps you prefer solitude.
Maybe what you’re craving is the stillness of a quiet house nestled deep in nature, while someone else feels inspired sitting on a high-rise balcony in Paris, catching the cool breeze drifting in from the Eiffel Tower. Your environment plays a powerful role in how deeply you’ll commit to your work, especially when considering the pull of distractions that tend to surface back home.
I tend to notice that when your immediate circle knows you’re in town, there’s often an unspoken expectation that you’ll pause your projects to help with a favor or attend a social invitation out of obligation. Travel creates the space to reclaim your time and immerse yourself in a setting that feels supportive, non-disruptive, and even a little magical so you can fully devote yourself to your work. And if you need a break from writing, instead of forcing yourself through creative fatigue, stepping outside your door to take in the wonders around you can offer a natural, revitalizing recharge.
Where do you want to visit that you haven’t prioritized yet? Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or a homebody, there’s always that one place we have yet to explore. Perhaps for your next book, it’s finally time to turn the chapter and get to it.
Making the time
If you’re in the position to do so, take off an entire year the way Elizabeth Gilbert did when she wrote Eat, Pray, Love after her divorce. Yes, it’s a risk. But that leap didn’t just result in a published book; it became a film starring Julia Roberts. Who would’ve thought?
If taking off one year is a stretch, then take off what you can. Most full-time jobs provide two to three weeks of paid vacation. Take them! Whatever your situation is, fortune tends to favor the bold, so don’t hold back from creating the space your work deserves.
I have a beautiful cat I hate being apart from. I treat him like my son, convinced his soul arrived through the vessel of a small furry animal instead of a child. He’s my boy. Not wanting to leave him behind, I found a five-star cat sitter to stay with him during my seven-day trip to Costa Rica.
Each day, we checked in through WhatsApp as she sent photos and videos of their time together. It gave me incredible peace of mind, knowing that someone was home caring for him, rolling balls across the floor for his daily hunts, rewarding him with small treats, and even turning on bird-chirping videos so he could watch as if he were in the jungle.
I share that example because I know that everyone has their own situation that causes hesitation before booking their flight. And it’s understandable. But once you make the decision to carve out time, the universe will provide ways to support your journey.
Crafting the work
I’m pretty sure you can write from anywhere. You already have. In an office. At home. In your neighborhood café with your usual order beside you. But when you travel to a foreign land, your senses sharpen. You hear unfamiliar languages, absorb new customs, notice subtle shifts in tone, rhythm, and atmosphere. Your brain wakes up. It stretches. It works in ways it doesn’t have to when everything feels familiar.
And that sensory expansion exercises your creative muscle. What you might have written at home gains new texture, new dimension, layers that simply wouldn’t have been there otherwise.
Imagine being caught in a sudden sandstorm in the middle of the desert. One moment, stillness. The next, thousands of grains whipping against your skin, blinding you, invading your breath, fine particles swirling in such force it feels like being overtaken, like death by a thousand cuts. That metaphor might never have surfaced if you hadn’t felt the sting of sand against your face, the disorientation of nature shifting without warning. Some analogies can’t be invented, they have to be lived.
When I visited Sedona, Arizona for the first time, I walked solo to Bell Rock and was hit with a sandstorm along the trail. At first, it was just wind; nothing unusual. I thought little of it as I grounded my tripod to film footage for my YouTube channel. But within moments, it began to pick up speed. As the momentum grew, a sharp instinct dropped in my belly, urging me to run. I couldn’t understand why. It was only wind, and there were no signs of an approaching thunderstorm. But that’s just it. Dust devils appear out of nowhere, for no rhyme or reason. As a native New Yorker, I had never experienced anything like it. But now, it’s something I can draw from.
When you’re developing scenes, characters, and plotlines, the more life experience you have, the more depth you can bring to the page, even if those experiences aren’t shared as your own but reshaped through a different character. There’s an old saying: write what you know. But there’s also value in writing something freshly new, before assumptions or familiarity have had a chance to taint it. Either way, when you write from lived experience, I believe readers can feel the authenticity.
Final thoughts
It’s like doing research for a college paper or gathering firsthand accounts as a journalist for a breaking story. You can either sit in a room in front of a blank screen and let your imagination carry you, or you can get out there and get dirty. I prefer the rush of adrenaline that comes from a window seat on a descending plane, bedazzled by an unfamiliar landscape coming into view, as if the future is already being written, waiting for me to step off the runway and meet it.
Read more from Jasmine Clemente
Jasmine Clemente, Bestselling Conscious Author & Yoga Teacher
Jasmine Clemente is a Spiritual Guide for women on the cusp of profound transformation. As someone who began her career as a Recording Dance Artist before becoming an RYT 500 yoga teacher, Jasmine bravely writes about her experiences of loss, change, and self-reflection, while encouraging women to embrace their unique journey as well. She offers writing courses in the categories of memoir, self-help, and therapeutic journaling.
