If you've been a part of our Wordeee tribe for a while, you know we revere great writers. Writing in a way that impacts the world and not just to feed the ego is a God-given talent that is helped along by real-life experiences. You are who we are looking for.
Whether you are a fiction or non-fiction writer, imagination is fundamental to writing. But even the most vivid imagination benefits from real experiences. For authors, travel isn't merely a luxury or creative indulgence—it's an essential tool that sharpens craft and deepens understanding of the human condition.
Real Life Experience
Every story draws from a well of experience, and travel dramatically expands that well. When you walk through the narrow alleyways of Marrakech and listen to the morning call to prayer; travel in Kenya with the people of the Masai Mara with animals only seen in that part of the world; stroll through a Bangkok market where the smell of durian fruit permeates the air; or go into the belly of the Swarovski mining cave in Innsbruck; watch as donkeys and horses deliver groceries on the Island of Hydra in Greece; or, one of my favorites, going into the Jeita Grotto stalactite and stalagmite caves in Beirut, where sacred geometry can never be doubted, you’ll be left with the kind of authentic experiences that can never be imagined. No amount of research or googling can replicate these lived experiences that can become the authentic textures that make fictional worlds feel lived-in and real, and that feed the imagination for nonfiction writers. The sounds, smells, sights, and sites, become germane to story.
Dispel Assumptions
I know, travel, especially to unfamiliar worlds, forces me out of my cultural comfort zone and makes me privy to a world that exists beyond my cultural norm. How the world really works, rather than what I am led to believe. As a suburban American writer in the Midwest, I might assume certain things about family dynamics, social hierarchies, or daily routines that simply don't hold true in a neighborhood not too far away, much less on other continents. Experiencing different ways of life firsthand prevents cultural myopia that can make fiction feel narrow or provincial and broadens the perspective of what’s possible. This kind of comparative understanding enriches our ability to create complex, authentic characters who feel genuinely different from one another, rather than variations on the same cultural theme.
Universality of Life
Paradoxically, as it liberates, travel often reveals how similar people are across cultures. Discovering that the universal laws of love, joy, fear, hate, anger, etc., exist in much the same way across cultures allows us to recognize that universal emotions are everywhere on earth, and the only difference is that they are expressed through a particular cultural lens. This allows us as writers to create characters who feel authentically rooted in specific places while still being emotionally accessible to readers from different backgrounds.
Collecting Stories and Characters
Every journey provides an opportunity to encounter people whose stories, quirks, and perspectives can inspire fictional characters or plot developments. The elderly hotel clerk who speaks five languages and has theories about every guest; the street artist whose work carries hidden political message; the stranger who invites you to their home on Jeju Island; a fellow traveler or expat whose life took an unexpected turn fifteen years ago—these people become part of our mental repository of human possibilities. Different narrative traditions and storytelling styles, listening to the cadence of how people in different cultures tell jokes, share gossip, or explain their histories, provides insight into the rhythms and structures that feel natural to different audiences.
Empathy and Perspective
Perhaps most importantly, travel cultivates empathy by forcing us into situations where, as outsiders, we don't understand the rules, such as bowing in Asian cultures, not going bare-armed in Muslim countries. A respectful traveler will depend on the kindness of strangers to direct them on how to follow acceptable protocol. Being lost, confused, or culturally out of step develops an understanding of vulnerability and displacement that can profoundly inform one's ability to write about characters in similar situations. This experience of being "the other" is particularly valuable for authors who want to write across cultural or social lines.
Practical Benefits
Beyond all of the above, travel provides practical benefits for us writers. It offers research opportunities, whether for historical fiction set in European cities or contemporary stories that require an understanding of different geographical or social environments. New stimuli and freedom from routine unlock creative breakthroughs and help projects employ fresh perspectives. And who knows, travel can inspire writers to become travel writers and add a new source of income to their financial picture.
The Inner Journey
Finally, travel is the ultimate when it comes to internal changes I’ve experienced. The discomfort of unfamiliarity, the joy of discovery, the humility of being a beginner in a new place—these emotional states are precisely the kinds of transformative experiences that generate compelling literature.
My sense of wonder has never gone away, and my increased tolerance for ambiguity and deeper appreciation for both difference and commonality in human experience inform my work. These qualities—more than any specific location or cultural detail—are what make travel an essential element for me as a writer.
Yes, the blank page demands not just technical skill, but wisdom. For authors willing to step outside their familiar worlds, travel offers an incomparable education in the full spectrum of human possibility. 
Consider travelling with Wordeee and Saundra Henderson Windom, author of Orchestration, to South Korea October 1-14, 2025, for a lifetime experience. Who knows, your book may be next!  

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