WRITING MY FANTASY BOOK WHILE TRAVELLING [Vietnam & Indonesia🇻🇳🇮🇩]

A travel-heavy writing sprint in Vietnam and Indonesia is turning into a real drafting breakthrough: after finishing multiple chapters of a new fantasy project, the writer locks in a faster-than-planned schedule—shifting a first-draft deadline from the end of August to the end of July.

The trip begins in northern Vietnam with family travel through Baka (near Sapa) and into Sapa for a short one-night hill trek. The itinerary is built around both logistics and creative time. After a long Redeye journey—about 27 hours of travel with a 12-hour sleep—the writer heads out for breakfast, then plans a market visit with a guide who previously led the same group during a 2017 trip. The Baka Market is described as a standout because it feels local rather than touristy, including vendors selling water buffalo. From there, the group drives roughly 1.5 hours to Sapa, stays overnight, and treks the next day.

Writing becomes the second pillar of the trip. Instead of bringing a computer on past trips, the writer packs one specifically because evenings often mean returning to the hotel with little to do. The new fantasy work—kept unnamed except for the acronym TBO—enters its drafting phase after the writer finishes editing a prior novel (The Animal Sense), which is sent out to critique partners. The approach is methodical: draft quickly, but start with “test” chapters to lock in voice and iron out issues before committing to the full draft. The book is structured into five parts, with an extra “March” buffer for whatever can be produced early.

In Sapa, the writer reports a major creative shift. During a sleeper bus ride from Sapa to Handl (departing around 4:00 p.m. and arriving around 10:00), the writer produces over 3,000 words and finishes chapter 3. A key frustration follows: the computer battery was left on after airport security, limiting further writing mid-ride. Still, the breakthrough is qualitative as well as quantitative. The writer describes earlier chapters as too contemporary and not “otherworldly” enough, especially regarding the main character’s voice. The target tone is fairy-tale-like—light, mythic, and not archaic or overly “distant”—with a magic system that feels “soft.” Ancient Rome is used as a reference point for civic roles and jobs, but the world itself is not meant to resemble a specific Earth time period.

The schedule then accelerates further in Indonesia. After flying through Kuala Lumpur and arriving in Medan, the group reaches Buk Laong in North Sumatra for an orangutan-focused trek. The writer describes intense jungle conditions, including heavy rain, and a dramatic encounter with orangutans: one appears in a tree and later comes down, staying meters away for about an hour as the group watches. Writing continues alongside the trekking. By the end of the Indonesia segment, the writer says part one of TBO is completed—four chapters plus two shorter epistolary chapters—placing them about a month ahead of the original plan. With travel still occupying the first half of April, the writer aims to finish part two by the end of April and now expects the full first draft to land by the end of July rather than August. The journey ends with a promise to continue in a part two covering the rest of Vietnam and a few days in Japan.