Writers, Get the Most Out of Your Experiences: 6 Ideas How

Living in a small island, where the population is not even 65,000 people, you will find that Bermudians travel. A lot. We need to. There’s a claustrophobic-type thing that happens when you’ve lived in a place that takes, a measly, one hour to get from one end of it to the other. You have to move, get out. Bermudians don’t require a Visa to travel to the States, so we’re all over the place. Last week in Boston, I was only minimally surprised to bump into not one, but two fellow Bermudians in a Target. (It’s a small world — and Boston is a gateway city).

So we travel. But it’s different when you’re traveling and you’re a writer. Every experience is fuel. Every situation is ammunition. Every landscape jumpstarts creativity and sparks the imagination. 

I lived in a different country and picked up another language while I was at it. I’ve been to remote villages and spent three days (and nights – gasp!) in the Amazonian jungle. I try to absorb as much as possible by watching people (trying not to stare), sparking conversation and asking questions. I’m not afraid of anything or any situation. This is the way I milk every experience I can, to get the most from it. This is juice for stories;

You may not be able to get off your landmass as easily as others, but there are a ton of ways to get story ideas when you’re away from home, or even if you’re not. Here are six that I can think of:

1. Look at things with your mind’s eye; not just your physical eyes: And by mind, I’m referring to your creative mind, the right side of your brain. Your physical eyes will give you information that is pretty straightforward. The leaves are green. The sky is blue. That person is (fill in the blank). But your mind’s eye, or your creative eye will show you something else and cause you to ask questions. The leaves are green and the sky is blue, but is that true for everyone (Philosophy 101)? And why is that person (fill in the blank)? Were they like that all the time? If not, what made them change? When you’re in a different place, this is especially exciting because you get to develop hypotheses, which can be the foundation of a really great story. The (blue) sky will be the limit!

2. Step out of your comfort zone: When the opportunity came for me to live in a country that didn’t speak my language, I didn’t think twice about it. I was dropped into a new culture and lived with a family that probably hadn’t seen a black person up close in their entire lives. Talk about stepping out of your comfort zone! But the stories I have are priceless, and the experience is one that no one can take away from me. To get the most out of your experiences and to find great stories, be willing to do things that make you a little uncomfortable. You will become exposed to information you never would have been otherwise, and a story will blossom in your mind.

3. Challenge stereotypes to learn something new: Think you already know about those kinds of people? Think there’s nothing more to learn about that situation? Think again. While standing in the Departure section at Mariscal Sucre International Airport, my host mother reached out to me and pulled me into a long-awaited embrace. She was a very petite woman, so the position was awkward, for more than one reason. She looked up at me and said words I will never forget: “Brooklyn, thank you for staying with us and thank you for treating me the way I didn’t treat you.” It was evidence that her stereotype had been challenged. She had learned something new. I suppose she could write a story now, if she is a writer. And the same is true for those of us who are. Don’t think you already know, because chances are you don’t. And that’s a story in and of itself.

4. Watch people and listen to what they say: I am an avid people-watcher. I like to take note of how they dress and what they say, because then I have the opportunity to take it up and notch and embellish it. When you travel (or even if you’re downtown), watch people and take note of idiosyncrasies that might make for a good story. On the flip-side, how about watching someone who is just like you and making a story about that?

5. Use the ‘What If’ technique to develop and stretch reality: If you’ve mastered Technique #1, now it’s time to apply the ‘What-If’ to it. ‘What if’ a man thought the sky was blue, but he learned that it wasn’t at all? And ‘What If’ it wasn’t really blue and people only thought it was because aliens had painted over it’s real color? (Corny, I know, but just an example, and you get the point). ‘What If’ takes a thought and stretches it like putty. What you end up with will be anybody’s guess.

6. Listen more than you talk: When you’ve mastered technique #2, you’ll be ready to approach interesting people and talk to them. I do this all the time (to my husband’s dismay). One time, a homeless man said he was hungry, so naturally, I walked with him to a nearby restaurant and bought him the meal of his choice. There are people who do the all the time, but how many of them take the time to ask how they got to be homeless in the first place? The story I got was amazing. I had challenged my stereotype (Technique #3) and learned something immensely special about the man. Can you imagine the story that could come out of something like that? Especially if I then apply the ‘What-If’ to it afterwards. The key here was that I had to listen. There were no lectures. There was no applying of psychological theory or counseling technique to the interaction. I simply listened and obtained the basis for a potentially interesting story.

My encouragement to my fellow writers is to get the most out of everything you experience, whether you’re at home or abroad. Your (future) fans will thank you.

B.K.