Be a Better Writer -- TRAVELOGUE
Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 10:30 am
Here’s a list of tips for writing travelogues:
1. A travelogue is a great opportunity to work on using imagery—and remember that imagery is not just words describing things that are seen, but words that evoke all of the senses: smell, hearing, taste, touch, movement, and bodily sensations like temperature, hunger, illness, desire, sleepiness and the like. (You can review the lesson on imagery here.)
Be careful, too, not just to indicate images with adjectives that really don’t tell the reader much.
POOR: The market smelled exotic and foreign.
BETTER: The aromas of cinnamon and chilies hung in the air.
POOR: I heard beautiful music from unusual instruments.
BETTER: A constant thrumming from goatskin drums took residence in my throat.
Note, too, that in the examples I’ve just given, the strongest words are nouns and verbs (cinnamon, chilies, hung, thrumming, throat). The adjectives in the poor examples (exotic, foreign, beautiful, unusual) are too general, and could mean different things to different people. The adjectives in the better examples (constant, goatskin) add more specificity to the imagery.
So—adjectives aren’t bad, and you’re going to need them in your travelogue. Make sure that you pick them with intention, and also use strong, specific verbs and nouns as much as possible.
2. Your travelogue should not read like a school report about the place that you have visited. You should not write a series of facts and statistics about that place; rather, you should convey its essence by relating your experiences there. It’s fine if, in the course of your narrative, the reader picks up a fact about that place that she didn’t know before.
POOR: Although Elbonian is the official language of Elbonia, over 80% of the native population speaks a dialect of English, developed after years of commerce with English-speaking nations.
BETTER: I was startled to discover that most of the residents of Elbonia speak a lovely English dialect. I had practiced several phrases in Elbonian, but after I mangled ‘na tistee abrul?’ (where is the restroom?), a kind woman patted my hand and said, ‘ober dere, missy, you fine da room you seek.’
3. You may write about a town or city, a state, a country, or even a landmark or attraction (like a national park, for example, or a tourist attraction). Whatever place you choose to write about, use all of the best tools of good writing to make it come alive:
• Excellent word choice (why use a rice cake word when a salsa word is available?)
• An engaging voice. Use your writer’s voice to set the tone for this piece—wonder, exhaustion, humor, sorrow—whatever you felt when you were there
• A variety of sentence and paragraph structures that contribute to the pacing and flow of your writing. Don’t forget transitional phrases.
• This really shouldn’t have a typical story arc (where there are fully developed characters, and conflict, climax, and resolution, for example), but it can contain small anecdotes (like the one above in #2).
4. Some of you might be saying, “But I’ve never traveled anywhere!” Keep in mind that this does not have to be an exotic foreign location. If you’ve traveled to a town that was new to you—write about that. However—if you just absolutely can NOT think of a travel experience worth writing about, you can write fiction for this week’s topic. If you do, you should still keep the previous three points in mind, and not write a story about someone who traveled. It should feel just like a nonfiction travelogue would: as if you actually had traveled to that place and experienced the culture or the atmosphere there. And if you write this as a piece of fiction about a real place that you have never, in fact, visited, then be sure that you have your facts about that place correct.
5. Just to be sure you’re clear on the difference between a travelogue and a story about a person who traveled, take a look at these two brief passages:
a. On the second day of our journey into Elbonia, I found my breathing becoming shallow and labored, even when we were merely ambling along the narrow, cobbled streets. Finally, I had to stop and rest, sitting under the shade of a tiktu tree. Our guide brought me a glass of something cool to drink, explaining that the altitude and humidity often affected visitors. Later, I learned that the glass had contained alpaca milk mixed with a powder of dried insects.
b. I tossed my favorite red dress into my suitcase at the last minute—who knew whether I might spot Mr. Right in Elbonia? And if he was there, I wanted him to see me, even if there were crowds of locals milling about. I thought maybe I saw Mr. Right on the plane, in fact, in the seat across the aisle. But when I saw what he was reading, I changed my mind: it was an Archie comic book.
The first selection could be part of a travelogue: it’s about the place, as experienced by the narrator. The second selection is more obviously part of a story; it’s about the narrator, who happens to be going to a place.
6. It should be written in 1st person and past tense. Notice that both of the examples in #5 are in 1st person and past tense, but only the first one would work as a travelogue.
7. This website has some excellent, short examples of travel writing from some famous writers (you have to scroll down just a little bit to get to the links).
HOMEWORK:
Make a comment or ask a question about writing travelogues. OR
Link to a travelogue that you have written. If you do this, please don’t just give us a link; tell us something about your writing process.
1. A travelogue is a great opportunity to work on using imagery—and remember that imagery is not just words describing things that are seen, but words that evoke all of the senses: smell, hearing, taste, touch, movement, and bodily sensations like temperature, hunger, illness, desire, sleepiness and the like. (You can review the lesson on imagery here.)
Be careful, too, not just to indicate images with adjectives that really don’t tell the reader much.
POOR: The market smelled exotic and foreign.
BETTER: The aromas of cinnamon and chilies hung in the air.
POOR: I heard beautiful music from unusual instruments.
BETTER: A constant thrumming from goatskin drums took residence in my throat.
Note, too, that in the examples I’ve just given, the strongest words are nouns and verbs (cinnamon, chilies, hung, thrumming, throat). The adjectives in the poor examples (exotic, foreign, beautiful, unusual) are too general, and could mean different things to different people. The adjectives in the better examples (constant, goatskin) add more specificity to the imagery.
So—adjectives aren’t bad, and you’re going to need them in your travelogue. Make sure that you pick them with intention, and also use strong, specific verbs and nouns as much as possible.
2. Your travelogue should not read like a school report about the place that you have visited. You should not write a series of facts and statistics about that place; rather, you should convey its essence by relating your experiences there. It’s fine if, in the course of your narrative, the reader picks up a fact about that place that she didn’t know before.
POOR: Although Elbonian is the official language of Elbonia, over 80% of the native population speaks a dialect of English, developed after years of commerce with English-speaking nations.
BETTER: I was startled to discover that most of the residents of Elbonia speak a lovely English dialect. I had practiced several phrases in Elbonian, but after I mangled ‘na tistee abrul?’ (where is the restroom?), a kind woman patted my hand and said, ‘ober dere, missy, you fine da room you seek.’
3. You may write about a town or city, a state, a country, or even a landmark or attraction (like a national park, for example, or a tourist attraction). Whatever place you choose to write about, use all of the best tools of good writing to make it come alive:
• Excellent word choice (why use a rice cake word when a salsa word is available?)
• An engaging voice. Use your writer’s voice to set the tone for this piece—wonder, exhaustion, humor, sorrow—whatever you felt when you were there
• A variety of sentence and paragraph structures that contribute to the pacing and flow of your writing. Don’t forget transitional phrases.
• This really shouldn’t have a typical story arc (where there are fully developed characters, and conflict, climax, and resolution, for example), but it can contain small anecdotes (like the one above in #2).
4. Some of you might be saying, “But I’ve never traveled anywhere!” Keep in mind that this does not have to be an exotic foreign location. If you’ve traveled to a town that was new to you—write about that. However—if you just absolutely can NOT think of a travel experience worth writing about, you can write fiction for this week’s topic. If you do, you should still keep the previous three points in mind, and not write a story about someone who traveled. It should feel just like a nonfiction travelogue would: as if you actually had traveled to that place and experienced the culture or the atmosphere there. And if you write this as a piece of fiction about a real place that you have never, in fact, visited, then be sure that you have your facts about that place correct.
5. Just to be sure you’re clear on the difference between a travelogue and a story about a person who traveled, take a look at these two brief passages:
a. On the second day of our journey into Elbonia, I found my breathing becoming shallow and labored, even when we were merely ambling along the narrow, cobbled streets. Finally, I had to stop and rest, sitting under the shade of a tiktu tree. Our guide brought me a glass of something cool to drink, explaining that the altitude and humidity often affected visitors. Later, I learned that the glass had contained alpaca milk mixed with a powder of dried insects.
b. I tossed my favorite red dress into my suitcase at the last minute—who knew whether I might spot Mr. Right in Elbonia? And if he was there, I wanted him to see me, even if there were crowds of locals milling about. I thought maybe I saw Mr. Right on the plane, in fact, in the seat across the aisle. But when I saw what he was reading, I changed my mind: it was an Archie comic book.
The first selection could be part of a travelogue: it’s about the place, as experienced by the narrator. The second selection is more obviously part of a story; it’s about the narrator, who happens to be going to a place.
6. It should be written in 1st person and past tense. Notice that both of the examples in #5 are in 1st person and past tense, but only the first one would work as a travelogue.
7. This website has some excellent, short examples of travel writing from some famous writers (you have to scroll down just a little bit to get to the links).
HOMEWORK:
Make a comment or ask a question about writing travelogues. OR
Link to a travelogue that you have written. If you do this, please don’t just give us a link; tell us something about your writing process.