Tag Archives: Using travel journals to enrich your writing

Have Journal Will Travel: Interview with Fiona Zedde

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I have written before about writing while traveling and keeping a journal while traveling as a way to infuse your writing with sensual energy and filling your creative well. Today’s post features one of my favorite authors, Fiona Zedde. Ms. Zedde recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of her first novel Bliss. I talk about my favorites of her novels in this post .

From her speculative fiction to her contemporary romance, Ms. Zedde never disappoints. Her novels are rich, sensuous and decadent. I live vicariously by following her travel adventures. As she prepares for the release of To Italy with Love and Other Stories, she very graciously took time out of her busy travel schedule to answer some questions about traveling as a writer.

  1. Have you always had the desire to travel?

Since I was twelve! I got on my first airplane when emigrating from Jamaica, and that’s when I fell in love with traveling. The entire experience captured my imagination and my interest – leaving one culture to immerse myself in another; hovering over the world and looking at it through strange little windows; even the food. I remember they served callaloo on that first Air Jamaica flight. I love food.

  1. Which comes first, the idea for a story in a certain setting, or choosing a setting and seeing what stories come from the experience?

Usually being in a particular setting will spawn ideas. Either through the things I experience in that place or because the setting itself is very evocative. Like the afternoon when I ended up riding on the back of an ancient motorbike through the medina in Marrakesh.

  1. Do you typically travel alone, or with other creatives/ writers/friends?

Actually a combination of both. I’ll travel somewhere with a friend and we’ll bum around together for a while then, once they go back home after a week or three, I travel on my own.

  1. Do you see all travel as research for writing or do you plan trips that are just about visiting family/friends/ relaxing without an agenda?

My official statement for my tax guy is “it’s all research!”

To clarify though, I’m a wanderer. I love seeing new places and experiencing new things. There’s nothing like being plopped down in a completely foreign culture, being disoriented by its unique structures and language then slowly feeling my way to familiarity, swimming back from that deep end. I treasure ways of turning those experiences into fiction.

  1. What are your top five destinations you have traveled to?

Morocco. Greece. Naples. Paris. Antwerp.

  1. What one destination do you want to revisit the most?

I feel a little clichéd in saying this, but it’s Paris. Their bakeries are amazing.

What are your top three travel tips for creatives abroad?

  1. Be open to traveling alone. You tend to meet more people when you’re not cliqued up and sometimes (subconsciously) closed off.
  2. If possible, experience a place at least twice.
  3. Make notes in your journal and take photos, of course. But not so much that you aren’t fully experiencing the moment.

F. Zedde-2-1

Jamaican-born Fiona Zedde currently lives and writes in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the author of several novellas and novels of lesbian love and desire, including the Lambda Literary Award finalists Bliss and Every Dark Desire. Her novel, Dangerous Pleasures, was winner of the About.com Readers’ Choice Award for Best Lesbian Novel or Memoir of 2012. Find out more at www.FionaZedde.com 

 

Research for Writers: Ten Tips for Location Research

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This is the beginning of a series of posts on research for writers. Some writers do a large amount of location research before they start a project, some do research as they go along, others of us may pick up bits and pieces like crazed crows gathering up every little shiny object or fact that catches our eye, add a little ADHD to the mix and location research can become overwhelming.

I fall in to the crazed crow category, and have talked about how I have organized my bits and pieces and ideas using flat files here , and how to make the most of collecting ideas when traveling here. I wrote about how to know when to stop researching and start writing here.

Here are ten tips for being productive when you research locations for your non-fiction, creative non-fiction, novel, short story, screenplay or other creative writing project.

1. Location research does not have to be long distance. Google Earth  has put much of the world just a mouse click or finger swipe away. If you are setting your story in a real place, even if the characters are fictional, readers will take you to task if you are mistaken in your geography.

2. Travel guides are your friends. If you are able to visit a location, take advantage of travel guidebooks. Most libraries carry travel guidebooks.  Lonely Planet travel guides are my favorite and no they don’t pay me to say that. If you are not able to travel to the location, a guidebook is helpful for researching your setting.  If your work is not contemporary, library sales are an excellent way to find out of print/ older guidebooks and old maps for getting the scenes right.

3. If you are going to travel, plan before you go. Plan, plan, and plan again. I work from a thick outline, and make notes to myself in the margins about research, that needs to be completed for the story. Using my notes, I create a list of places to visit, things to experience, and people I would like to interview.

4. Borrowing from the film and photography industry make a shot list.  For photographers and film makers a shot list is a list of photographs to take or scenes to film.  I use photos for much of my research because I am a visual organizer. If you are not into taking photos this is simple a list of places or events you want to visit or observe. Some writers sketch locations if photographs are inappropriate for the location or event.

5. Local guides can be invaluable if you have limited time.  Members of historical societies, hiking groups, amateur photography clubs, and/or friends of friends can be more than willing to answer questions, point out the best places for photos, accompany you to events, or provide history and details that only locals know. Be respectful of their time, offer to pay for fuel or food or both if they take you on a tour that involves motorized transportation. A thank you card is always appreciated.

6. Be respectful of local culture. Dress appropriately, this is another instance where local guides can be helpful. People should never be treated like animals in the zoo. Always ask permission if you wish to photograph people, and respect their answer if it is no. Most people will answer polite questions. If they ask why you want to know, be truthful. Many people will be happy to answer respectfully presented questions, and if not, move on.

7. Journal your experiences, even if you don’t normally keep a journal. Find a way to record your impressions, feelings, tastes, sounds, and what you see. All of this can be used, if not for a current project for a later one.

9. Push your limits, try new things, but be safe. Pay attention to your surroundings. Leave an itinerary if you are traveling alone. Listen to your gut, if something does not feel right if most likely is not safe.

10. Travel light, keep your gear simple, and have a back up plan if the location/event you planned to visit is not available.

Don’t be afraid of location research, use these tips, make your trip productive and most of all have fun.

 

Travel Journals

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Challenging is the best way to describe writing while traveling. Routines are disrupted, changing time zones can be wicked hard physically, and with ADHD the distraction of new places can make it very difficult to focus on writing. If you are traveling with your family, kids, or even with other adults it can be difficult for them understand why you need to have time alone to write. Negotiation is critical for having an enjoyable trip and getting the creative time you need. I am grateful that my family understands that I need to take time out to write, and I am careful to not let it keep me from enjoying the moment.

Taking time to get out of your head to see and experience the world around you provides raw material for writing. Travel brings with it the opportunity to see new things, taste new foods, experience new cultures, and to meet new people. Take advantage of these experiences and collect your impressions in a travel journal, notebook, or other writing tool of your choice. I prefer paper for travel as I never have to worry about not being able to record my thoughts because of a lack of electricity. Small notebooks are great for this, and I am very partial to 5×8 hardcover sketch books. These kinds of books become a permanent record of my travels, fit in my flat filing system that I talked about here, and are unobtrusive. Although I adore fountain pens, I only carry cheap ball points while traveling, they don’t  leak and are easy to replace if lost or broken.

Embrace the chaos that travel brings. Record your thoughts, feelings, and impressions. Capture bits of overheard dialogue and make character sketches. Use what you experience to enrich your writing.  In the past I have relied on a small point and shoot camera to record pictures as resources for my writing, this trip I am using Evernote to take pictures and write extensive captions so that I remember where and why I took the photo. No matter what you are writing having images to remember your experiences is invaluable. If you are Blogger this is a fantastic way to collect images for future posts as well as generating ideas for your blog. If you write fiction it is great to use images as part of your character and location sketches.

Enjoy your trip. Make memories. Record your life. Use it all.