Before You Write - Travel!
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
Before You Write - Travel!
“Before you write - travel.” I can’t remember where I first read this advice. Although it seems quite old fashioned, it’s probably the best guideline to prospective authors I’ve ever heard. I wrote my first novel, The Tale of the Birds, in Cairo. My second, The Mask Slips, is based on my experiences in Sri Lanka. The Concubine’s Son is set in Medieval Vietnam. Many of my short stories are set in places similar to those I’ve visited. None of the novels or short stories would have been written if I hadn’t travelled.
It’s not just about describing the sights, either. To write about a place in such intimate detail it’s almost like a character of it’s own, unless you’re prepared to read LOADS of travel guides about it, you have to experience it - the smells and sounds, the way the people live in their surroundings. And I guess more importantly - you have to know how it affects you. Because ultimately, that’s the impression you’re trying to put across to your readers. Sri Lanka affected me, for sure. I tried to show how in the Mask Slips.
If you’re still not convinced, just look at the writers whose travels benefited their writing: Graham Greene, Mark Twain, Somerset Maugham, Guy Gavriel Kay, Agatha Christie, Joseph Conrad - the list is endless. And for a good reason. Because travelling broadens the imagination as well as the mind.
As a postscript, I remember my 80 year old Great Aunt’s advice before I left England to live in Egypt: “Don’t drink the water, don’t eat the salad, and don’t catch diseases off any dirty belly dancers .”
Tags: travel, writer
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