Free Amtrak Residency for Writers

My co-author and I frequently take the train to cons for this very reason. It's wonderful to write on a train. Both soothing and creatively invigorating. I'll have to give it a try if they're doing it in my neck of the woods.

Last time I rode a train was Corvallis OR to Seattle. It was so relaxing (I HATE FLYING SO MUCH). This is an amazing idea.

I just heard about this yesterday, pretty awesome stuff. Plus this is great for writers that are poor.

I don't really understand what residency is? It it like a sleeper train? Because I can't imagine being on a train 40 hours without a bed. Or even 20.

I usually spend a lot of time on trains during the summer and try to get some writing done. My son loves to travel. But the longest journey here is 4 and a half hours or so.

The US is freakin' huge, so a 40 - 80 hour train journey is not out of the question. A friend of mine and I were considering a jaunt from Phoenix AZ to Milwaukee for a con, and that looked like a three-day trip one way. Sadly, the airline turned out to be cheaper and more convenient for that particular trip.

But writing on a train sounds like a wonderful adventure.

That sounds fun! I would love to ride by rail more, and writing while on the train sounds fun.

That's so cool. Not that I live in the US, but still.

Alitriona said:

I don't really understand what residency is? It it like a sleeper train? Because I can't imagine being on a train 40 hours without a bed. Or even 20.

Click to expand...

I'd like to know that, too.

17 hours, I've done without a bed.

40? Yeah, I'm going to need a bed. If so, I'd definitely do this. Take the train through some areas with great landscapes.

This is such a cool idea. I've been to a lot of places via Amtrak (my favorite was the Coast Starlight from CA to WA) and I love long-distance train travel. I'd second the posters who said they'd require a bed, though. Sleeping in coach was never all that good for one's neck.

That being said, I have to wonder what's in it for Amtrak besides a bit of publicity on social media. Would a writer (eventually) be required to give a presentation or something aboard the train? Margaret Atwood holds talks aboard Cunard (cruise ships) when she travels on them, but large gatherings aren't very feasible on Amtrak.

Really cool idea, though. I'd probably spend most of my time in one of those cool glass-ceilinged observation cars

I'd be all over this. I love to travel by train.

Very, very cool! A long train trip may be in my near future. A rolling retreat, so to speak.

I would so love this! More details would be needed, but it's a great idea if there's availability.

I would absolutely take that. Where do I sign up? Oh, I don't yet...

I've been known to write on local buses and on airplanes. The last time I was on a train I wasn't writing, but I can absolutely imagine that being productive. (Plus I've wanted to take a long train trip for a while).

I would love this so much.

I also wonder what's in it for Amtrak. One more laptop-obsessed traveler doesn't seem like much of an advantage. Are we're expected, then, to converse about our projects, a sort of on-board entertainment?

I've traveled by train in a sleeper car before, an overnight trip from GA to NYC and later NYC to FL. They had a little radio you could tune into and bunkbed style sleeping where the bottom bed converted into chairs. It's quiet, private, and unusually comfortable. All told, it would be a fantastic little writing retreat, watching the world go by outside while you create a world inside. I would absolutely do something like this!

TellMeAStory said:

I also wonder what's in it for Amtrak. One more laptop-obsessed traveler doesn't seem like much of an advantage. Are we're expected, then, to converse about our projects, a sort of on-board entertainment?

Click to expand...

If you read the full article, it says that they're currently hammering down the specifics, but that it will most likely be a tiered approach with a primary focus on writers that have a strong social media presence. So it seems like they're just after the word-of-mouth buzz (which they're already getting, evidenced by this thread).

I expect they'd offer a roomette. Otherwise, it would be like being at the zoo: sitting in coach typing on a laptop as other passengers pass by, staring, saying, "Ooh, look, there's the writer. She's writing!"

When purchased normally, roomettes and bedrooms come with three free meals a day, so that would be a nice package.

I'm guessing that it would be all about the tweets and blogs and Facebook updates, as free advertising for Amtrak. As J. W. Alden said, it'll be for the writers who have a social media presence, because that's what Amtrak wants.

Calla Lily said:

I'd be happy to give a how-to or Q&A on the train. In the dining car over coffee? As an after-dinner exhibit? With a sign reading *Please do not anger The Writer. She may kill you in her next book*

I'm one of those fortunate types who has no problem speaking in public. I taught middle school. Nothing scares me.

Click to expand...

I'm envisioning the writer holding "office hours" and offering one on one critique sessions for passengers' WIPs.



I think in this first instance, all Amtrak wanted was a few tweets and a blog post. Pretty nifty in exchange for a nice train ride!

Sadly, the last train journey I took, our train got stuck behind a stalled freight ahead of us on the tracks. Stuck for four hours. It was rather miserable, and no way for anyone to do anything about it. That freight in front of us had to move before we could.

Right now I think their whole deal is just trying to get the word out along the lines of "Oh hey, yes, we still do this traveling by train thing. It's fun, trust us. No? Well trust these smart people. Writers are smart people you know!" They mentioned something about blog posts in the article I believe.

Which, don't get me wrong, I love this idea. I love riding trains. I took a train trip from Toledo, OH to New York and it was the best thing ever. (So good, in fact, that I'm considering taking a train trip.) But I also heard that Amtrak is having a bit of a profit problem so they need all the presence they can get.

I'm sure the fact that they shut down the section from Detroit to Toledo to be part of my area's problem. The route to Chicago, however, is still going.