Traveling During NaNoWriMo

As much as we may want it to, everyday life doesn't stop in November when NaNoWriMo comes. For those of us in the U.S., Thanksgiving comes in November, and this could mean we have to travel. During each of the four years I've done NaNoWriMo, I've vacationed with my family for Thanksgiving. I'm doing the same this year, as well as a trip to New York City right at the start of the month, so I will have had lots of practice with traveling during NaNoWriMo. Here are some tips that I've found useful so far:

Make Use of Travel Time

I was surprised by this at first, but parts of traveling during November can make it a helpful thing instead of a setback. One of these parts is the time spent getting there. If you're a passenger in a car, airplane, train, or boat, these can be the best places to get some writing done. I will be taking two six hour plane rides and a three-hour-long car trip this year, which means that I'll be sitting for a lot of time. Here are some ways to prepare for such an opportunity:

• Make sure your seating arrangement is good for writing. For me, this means sitting away from my family on the plane (they're very understanding about this) and sitting in either an aisle seat or a window seat. If I'm in a car, I like to sit next to the window and lean up against it as I write.
• Have your music on hand. I use Spotify, so I'll need to "download" my playlists for offline listening before I get on the plane. You may prefer to use iTunes or another service, but make sure you can still listen if you won't have internet access.
•  Have a plan to give yourself more privacy. This may just be a personal preference, but I have a hard time writing if I feel like someone's peering over my shoulder. Even if my screen could possibly be watched by someone in the car or airplane, I feel self conscious. I have two strategies to feel more like I'm in not in a public space: I angle myself so that my back's to a wall, or I drag my word document to the bottom of the screen. The former means that only the wall and I can see what I'm typing, and the latter works because nobody's going to see the bottom of your screen from just a glance. And if I keep just a line of text visible, I'm more likely to forget about word count and write the story line by line. It's a win-win!

Take Advantage of your Hotel's Business Center

I use business centers every so often when I need to do homework on a trip. The same can be said for NaNoWriMo writing. As I'm going to be sharing a hotel room with my family this month, having a separate space to write in is going to be especially helpful. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Look at the hotel's website before you go, and make sure it has a business center or seating in the lobby.
• If you have homework or another kind of work, it helps to treat writing as a part of that. Just tell your friends and family that you need time and space for homework, and then add some writing into that time. But more on that in a moment...

Write Before Homework

I know what you're thinking. Shouldn't homework be a priority? What if you have a never-ending to-do list that just cannot wait?

That to-do list is exactly why you should put it off to write first, at least if you study the same way I do. I like to spread out my homework when I do it, which means that I do a little bit of each subject every day of a weekend or break. However, this means that I'm never done with homework; I don't leave time for a Sunday off, but I don't take Fridays off either. What does this have to do with NaNo? Well, it means that I will never have long chunks of time for non-homework activities because I always have some kind of studying to do. So the best course of action for me is to write before I even think about homework, and that way I make sure I have that writing time.

Connecting this back to travel: writing first also ensures that you have the whole trip there to write! A concentrated block of writing time works wonders, and your homework will be waiting for you when you reach your destination or get home.

Use a Hotspot for Internet

When I figured this out, it was a life changer. Because my Thanksgiving vacation spot has terrible internet reception, using a hotspot on my phone is extremely helpful when I want to log my word count into the NaNo website. If you have an iPhone, just go to Settings>Personal Hotspot>On. Then connect to the hotspot on your laptop using the given password, and viola, you can use the internet anywhere your phone gets service! Alternatively, you can go to a coffee shop, library, hotel or restaurant with wifi and use that.

Some More Quick tips:

• It's really important to mind the time difference! See if the NaNoWriMo website still separates days based on your home time zone, and if it's important to you, make sure your daily goal is reached within those hours.
• Keep a bullet journal! I will likely have a post on this later, but I'd recommend keeping the journal even when you're on holiday. It will keep you on task and aware of the date.
• Turn your phone on airplane mode and hide Spotify's friend feed. Though a trip may require you to connect and interact with people more than usual, you can cut back on online interferences by disconnecting. (The Spotify tip is crucial for me; I always get caught up in watching what my friends are listening to, and it makes me want to listen alongside them as a social activity. But if I hide the feed, I can focus on my writing while still listening to music.)
• This is likely obvious, but try to write a little extra on the days you aren't away. This will give you more freedom to write a little less on the trip.
• Don't forget to bring a laptop charger!

Lastly, remember to have fun on your trip. While NaNoWriMo only happens once a year, vacation time is also special. I will try to be present with my family and not stress over word counts, and I hope you will be able to, too!