Writing on a Work Trip

A couple of weeks ago I went on a work trip.

I flew to Broome in Western Australia on Tuesday, flew to Perth late on Thursday night for a meeting the next day, then returned home to Sydney on Saturday evening.

I had my meetings, worked on work stuff back in my hotel rooms, and did a little sight seeing.

Western Australia is currently three hours behind Sydney, so on the first morning I woke at 4.30am knowing that it was 7.30 back home. I tried to go back to sleep but by ten to five, it was obvious I was still waking to my own body clock.

Not a problem!

It was way too early to work. Even too early to email the office. So with breakfast still hours away and no one to bother me, I fired up my laptop and continued on my current work in progress.

An old building near my hotel. Broome.

The best part about finding this time was being able to work on a major scene uninterrupted for hours. The novel is Winter Masquerade, and during this early morning I started the actual masquerade ball scene, and wrote a fair chunk of it. I stopped for breakfast then continued until my first face to face work commitment.

Next morning, same thing.

The masquerade ball continued being developed until breakfast, then recommenced until my 10am work meeting.

Now, I wasn’t hotel bound completely when I wasn’t working. I made sure I saw the sunset at Cable Beach. I ate my meals of butter chicken and naan bread, or Asian salad with pork belly at some nice local places. And got some official business in after office hours, just because I really like my current work project.

The sunset at Cable Beach, Broome.

But it’s nice being away to write.

In Perth I tried to write after a long day of meetings, but my tired eyes wouldn’t allow it. Fortunately, on the day I was leaving, I woke at 5am and continued Ferris’s adventures at the Winter Masquerade.

I ventured out for Breakfast at this cool buffet place called Miss Maude’s. It was all very Swedish as Miss Maude came to Perth in the sixties from, well, Sweden, and set up this kitsch restaurant way back then. It’s a Perth institution.

Even the waitresses are in costume at Miss Maude’s

By this stage, Ferris was doing some major self realisation while I enjoyed several courses of fruit, eggs and toast, and a couple of pastries. Plus I listened to the women at the table next who’d just seen the Cher concert the night before.

Then off to the airport…

…after a short sight seeing walk and checking out of my hotel. The airport cafe area was another perfect place to open my laptop, plug in my mouse, and further Ferris’s adventures after the masquerade. Some of which now include an airport.

The best thing about writing on a work trip is that you are influenced by different things. The people in the town you are visiting. The very different surroundings. And the peace to just write what you need to write.

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