Thanksgiving falls right in the thick of National Novel Writing Month. For every person who sees this as a blessing, someone else considers this a detriment to getting their novel done. I’m here to give you some tips so, no matter what your plans for the holiday are, you’ll be able to use your turkey time productively.
Thanksgiving is one of the biggest travel holidays of the year. But the time spent getting from here to there can be good for your novel in three big ways.
Downtime to let you mind work out ideas
Sometimes I do my best writing while I’m just staring out the window, watching the world go by. You’ve been going non-stop this month and sometimes travel can be the perfect opportunity to just let your mind wander. The beauty of letting your mind rest this way is that sometimes elements of your novel magically work themselves out when your brain can step away and work on them in the background.
Time to write
Planes, trains and automobiles. You can write on any one of them! Got a laptop? Tablet? Good old fashioned paper and pen? Write while in the car. Write while waiting to board the  train. Write while on line for airport security. All those moments of sitting on your butt that are just a part of getting from here to there can be the valuable writing time you need to get ahead.
Even the driver can take advantage of travel time by dictating novel ideas into a recorder to be transcribed later or using a voice to text program like Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
Inspiration for characters and settings
You really see some characters out there on public transport, don’t you? That weird guy at the rest stop at 3 AM should totally go in your novel. That woman you overheard on the train having baby daddy drama is just the conflict you need for your next scene. Even the stress of dealing with rude or annoying people is great inspiration for experiences to put your characters through.
And the change of scenery may also be just what your novel ordered. What interesting landscapes do you pass on the way to your destination? Could you work that quirky building into your story? Does being back in your hometown remind you of something you’re passionate about?
You’ve probably been stuck inside working on your novel for most of the month. Getting out of the house can provide some fantastic external stimuli for new ideas to revitalize your novel.
Travel, even annoying travel, can be very good for your writing. Sometimes you need to go somewhere else to get your novel back to where it belongs.
Hillary DePiano is a playwright, fiction and non-fiction writer who loves writing of all kinds except for writing bios like this.
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