How to make travel stories interesting?
I have some good, true travel stories. Things that involve guns, explosions, and all kinds of other good stuff. I want to write them down, but I'm having trouble envisioning how to present the stories. I don't want to embellish, and it would go against my ethics to stray into creative writing in a non-fiction account (eg. "the sun illuminated his eyes as he looked down his gun sight" is stretching into the realm of creative writing to me, instead of staying in non-fiction land.)
On the other hand, simply stating what happened: "Then I did this. Then that guy did that. Then we all had a good laugh." is boring.
So, how can I present my true travel stories in a way that is both interesting to someone on the Internet who had no association with the events the stories talk about, and that does not take too much creative license?
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I don't want to embellish, and it would go against my ethics to stray into creative writing in a non-fiction account
I think you're off-base here. Memoirs (which is what you're writing) are not transcripts of history. Yes, they are recitations of actual facts and events which occurred to the writer, but nobody remembers every detail of first grade with photographic precision (unless you happen to have eidetic memory). The writer is going to add, trim, and edit to make it work as a story.
There's nothing wrong with smoothing out the dry facts of your narrative into something readable and interesting. That's not embellishment or what you dismiss as "creative writing." That's editing.
If the dry fact is "I caught two trout," embellishment is "I caught four monstrous trout!" and creative writing is "After two days at sea, with no power, no GPS, and diminishing supplies, I finally sighted the great white shark. He reared out of the water and fixed me with one fathomless black eye. I took aim with my trusty flare gun..."
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Travel stories are about the longing for something with a counterpoint of fear of the unknown and its dangers. To make your story interesting, find the object of longing and find the the source of peril. The longing and the peril may be great or small, but they are always at the heart of the story.
Since you have guns and explosions, the perils are pretty clear. What is the longing that drives the traveller to brave these perils?
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Although the following might seem obvious, some of the things I tell my students include: don't use 'then'. If you have written it well one thing follows from another.
Secondly, avoid starting sentences in the same way. Particularly avoid starting with 'I' or a similar pronoun.
Thirdly, vary the structure of your sentences for effect. Use simple sentences for pace, etc.
Fourthly, try to use some similes and metaphors to make your writing more interesting.
Fifthly, vary your vocabulary and definitely avoid repeating most words.
Sixthly, include more details. For example, what did the explosives smell like?
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/20168. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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