In today’s world—saturated with all sorts of pictures, TV shows, movies, and other visual media—it can be easy to forget the visual power of words. Long before any sort of visual media could be captured and replayed for our entertainment, people were telling stories to one another in an oral tradition that continues even up to today.
But as long as there have been stories, there have also been storytellers. And as long as there have been storytellers, there have been good storytellers and bad storytellers.
So the question becomes: what makes the good storytellers good? What secrets do they hold that make their stories so captivating and magical? And how can we use these secrets of storytelling to enthrall our audiences through our creative travel writing?
Storytelling Secret #1: Writing Visually
The first secret of good storytelling is learning how to write what you see. We all think that we can see (we have eyes, right?) so we shouldn’t have an issue writing what we see…but when we first try to write what we’ve experienced, our words fall short and we realize it is far more difficult than we expected.
Of course, we know what we see since we’ve already seen it. But conveying what we’ve seen to our readers is another matter entirely.
We often end up with writing like this:
There was a forest. It was an empty and cold place.
From these sentences, what can you tell me about the forest? What does it look like? And where is this place? How empty and cold is it—cold like a California winter or cold like Antarctica?
Vague descriptions like this don’t magically transport us anywhere…and imagine how disappointed you would be if you were anxiously awaiting the words of a storyteller and they started their story this way!
But now, let’s take a look at a different version of a story describing this same place:
Dark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen waterway. The trees had been stripped by a recent wind of their white covering of frost, and they seemed to lean towards each other, black and ominous, in the fading light. A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of laughter, but of a laughter more terrible than any sadness—a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozen-hearted Northland Wild.
– Jack London, White Fang
What a difference it makes to write visually! The first version of the story would never have made Jack London the enduring and celebrated American author he is today. But with the second version, he transports us to the wilds of the Yukon through his careful choice of words.
So what makes London’s version so successful? And how can we steal from his brilliance to find the secrets of storytelling that we can use in our own travel writing? Let’s unpack three ways he uses visual words to help him write what he sees.
1. Use Concrete Detail
In Jack London’s version of the introduction to White Fang, we find it to be a very different description from the first version I offered. In his writing, we not only learn of the existence of this cold, forested place…but we actually see it.
London uses concrete detail, not general descriptions, in order to convey a sense of place.
It becomes a “dark spruce forest” instead of just a forest. Can you already see it better? Before, it could have been any forest; now we know the type of trees and can even feel their density.
Likewise, the “white covering of frost” gives us a deeper mental image. Instead of just “cold,” we now know what type of cold.
Using concrete details—the minutia of what you see—will help your reader form an actual idea of what you are writing about and may even make them feel like they are seeing it with you! This is the heart of learning how to write visually.
But of course, before you can write this way, you must actively notice these concrete details for yourself while exploring a new place. Next time you’re traveling, try to notice the details that make up a place rather than just your overall impressions.
2. Create Mental Images
Creating mental images is another excellent way to help your readers feel as if they are actually seeing the place you are writing about. The emotions of what you see can be hard to communicate, but you can communicate these emotions effectively if you use similes and metaphors to compare what you see to something else your readers already know.
London frequently uses this technique throughout his introductory paragraph and throughout the rest of his writing.
In particular, he writes “a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the sphinx” and “a laughter cold as the frost.” Both of these similes compare the “laughter” in the landscape to something we might know from other areas of our life—and in doing so, he shows that the laughter is not joyous, but instead a somewhat cruel and inscrutable laughter.
How did he convey so much emotion of a place in such a short time? By using mental images well.
So next time you sit down to write, think about what you see and then think about what you can compare it to that might be helpful for your reader. In doing so, you will be helping your reader to envision the place in a much more real way.
3. Capturing the Atmosphere
The last secret of writing visually is to not overdo it! It can be so easy to get caught up and describe everything that you see, but using moderation in your description is another facet of the diamond of great storytelling.
So how do you know which details to include and which ones to leave out?
The best practice is to not feel pressured into describing the entire scene. Instead, think carefully about the dominant emotion or prevailing atmosphere. What two or three words would you use to describe the way a place looks and feels?
In the London example, there is a unifying theme of a pervading chill (emotionally and physically), a wildness, and a silence and emptiness.
So does he describe everything he sees? Of course not! I’m sure there was at least one aspect of this scene that was strikingly beautiful. But because the beauty of this place doesn’t play into the prevailing atmosphere or the emotion London is writing about, it is not necessary or helpful for him to mention it in this part of his writing.
So after you’ve mastered using concrete detail and mental images, learn to capture the atmosphere by focusing in on the most important details of a scene. Your writing, and your readers, will thank you!
Looking for more creative writing inspiration? Check out more articles on the blog, or take a look at these books that will help upgrade your creative writing!
What is your best advice for learning to write what you see?
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