When it comes to creative travel writing, it’s important to know some of the frameworks and storytelling techniques that will help you write a captivating story. But once you have the knowledge, it’s time to apply it. Here are three exercises that will help improve your creative travel writing!
Exercise 1: Judgments vs. Observations
This exercise is designed to help you separate your observations from your judgments/reactions.
1. Draw a line down the middle of a blank page. On one side, write “Observations.” On the other, write “Reactions.”
2. Choose a place to write about, and then under “observations,” write down everything you see/hear/smell/etc. (or remember seeing/hearing/smelling/etc. if you are thinking of a place you visited in the past.) We’re looking for lots of details here!
- Example: I see 200-year-old oak trees. The trees are draped in Spanish moss. Light shines through the leaves. A dusty pathway makes its way through the center of the trees.
3. Under “reactions,” write down what you infer from the observations on the other side of the page.
- Example: The oak alley is beautiful.
4. Which is more powerful—observations or reactions? I’d say clearly the observations are more powerful. So remind yourself of this exercise the next time you’re writing a story. Don’t shirk your role as a creative writer by relying too much on your reactions and neglecting to share your observations!
Exercise 2: Experiencing Place
In this exercise, the goal is to experience a place more fully and then practice sorting this information to build toward a central truth or theme.
1. First, choose a location you have visited recently (or go somewhere new where you can make observations in real-time!)
- Example: Oxford, England
2. Write down a list of 15-20 accurate observations of the place/experience you decided on in step one. These can be sights, smells, overheard conversations, actions, events, etc.
- Example: 1. Tourists wander through the street and crowd into the colleges. 2. There are lots of yellow stone buildings in the city. 3. Students punt down the river. 4. The bells ring for a long time on Sundays as residents go to Sunday services. 5. Students stop by kebab vans for late night snacks. 6. Late-night Oxford smells like meat and grease near the kebab vans…
- Avoid judgement words like “beautiful” stone buildings, “relaxing” punting, etc. The goal is to get the actual, observable facts at this stage…not your opinions or values placed on the facts!
3. Look for a pattern or theme across the observations you have made and decide what story you want to tell. This step is important, as you are creating order and meaning out of diversity and chaos! Mercilessly cut out any unimportant details.
- Example: If I want to tell a story about the different types of people in Oxford, I would likely remove the observation about the yellow stone buildings in the city. It is somewhat unlikely it will be as relevant as the other details or contribute much to a story about the people of Oxford.
4. Once you have a theme, think of new observations that may also support the “truth” you found in the pattern.
- Example: People busk in the streets through the day and late into the night.
5. Write it up! Use the details you found to support the “truth” or theme of your story to create a more compelling travel article. This exercise forces you to look for specific detail, so you will have much more material to work with in showing instead of just telling the reader about the place!
Exercise 3 – Mapping Your Story
This exercise presents a series of questions that are important to think about before beginning any creative travel story. Use them as a guide for your next article!
1. Think about the story you want to tell. What is the most exciting/scary/emotional part? Can you start telling the story from this moment to grab the reader’s attention?
2. What narrative voice will you use? Will you include yourself in the story? Or use distance so you can share the opinions of others too?
- Hint: If you need help deciding on a narrative voice, check out my article on how to make this important choice!
3. Should you use past or present tense?
- Hint: When the action is important, it can sometimes be more compelling to use present tense! In many cases, though, you will probably be best off with using past tense.
4. What information can you use to tease the reader along, so they don’t lose interest? This is much better than disclosing everything about your experience and feelings about a place at the start of the story.
Part of what makes creative travel writing so thrilling to read is the unique voice that each writer brings to their story. And a unique voice and style comes from encountering the reality of a place plus the specific and unique way each person tries to make sense of the world around them.
No one will ever have the exact same voice as you, because your voice is your subjective viewpoint PLUS the objective nature of the world. With the help of these three exercises, you can hone your understanding of making objective observations and craft them into finely woven stories with that particular sense of style that is all yours!
What are your go-to exercises for improving your writing skills?
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