The Travel Writers Bag

By Jack Profijt

The Writers Bag of Tricks

There are tons of articles on the net about travelling and where to go and what to see. There are plenty of different things to read about different travels, and how to get to where we want to go. But have you ever given thought as to how travel writers, or writers in general get what they see and experience onto the written page? All people that write can call themselves writers or authors, however they all have their own style of how they get the things they see or experience on paper or the electronic screen.  I have been asked in the past what I carry in my satchel (Man Purse) that I find to be indispensable as far as getting the ideas right.  So here is what I carry.

First you need a good bag to carry all of your writer junk in. One that is compact yet sturdy, however it doesn’t have to be expensive, but keep in mind you get what you pay for. The one I use has plenty of pockets and a place for everything, including a water bottle and a snack.

A good camera is also a good investment if you plan on doing any of your own content creation. I am currently using a Nikon DSLR3100. I think this camera provides a good balance between portability and quality. It has a crazy amount of options and shooting configurations, and can be mounted on a tri pod. I also carry a cell phone camera as well, this is also a cheaper option. Some of these modern devices have exceptional photo quality as well.

My choice for a note pad is quality over quantity. After all pen and paper are the tools of our trade, so I chose to work with the good quality notebooks bound in an Italian leather case (thanks to my wife). At the very least, I would also look for a refillable book cover, for obvious reasons. Along with this I use good quality pens. Parker Pens are my weapons of choice, if you asked my wife she would tell you that I am a little fanatical about my pens and note books but that is another post. It also doesn’t hurt to have a pencil packed into your writer’s bag of tricks.

One thing that I think is overlooked in the modern age is the good old fashioned voice recorder. You never know when those thoughts are going to strike or if you come up with an interview idea on the spot. Voice recorders can be picked up cheap from any electronic store. However in my case my wife found mine in a puddle, put it in a bowl of rice.. presto chango .. Good as new.

This may seem over the top but a good knife/blade is always useful. It harkens back to my Army and Boy Scout days. It’s better to have one and not need it than to need it and not have one. Besides you never know when you will need to slice into piece of French bread and butter or uncork a bottle of wine or trim a cigar.

Last but not least on my list of items in my writer’s bag of tricks are my watch, wallet, cell phone and of course my glasses. My watch is a Tissot with date and illuminated hands. My phone is an iPhone 4s on which I have an app called Commander Compass. It acts as a GPS and compass. With this app I can find points on a map using several different coordinate systems and then set way points with those coordinates. It is a useful app with too many features to list here. Also the phone carrier that I have has great overseas coverage so I am never out of contact.

So now ya know what’s in my writer’s bag of tricks