Writing Travel Scenes in Your Novel
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- Опубликовано: 30 июн 2024
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- This week's video is a viewer requested one all about writing travel scenes. Whether you're writing a novel set in 15th century Egypt or one set in a fantasy world, I have 8 tips to ensure your journey scenes are top notch!
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I have quite a lot of travelling in my story, so I´ve gathered quite a lot of info about it.
few tips from me:
-change the way of travelling (cars, trains, ships, carriages, horses, dragons, teleporting,...) With each one, the character has to worry about different things. And reading about somebody walking through the country alone for the 5th time is boring
-different company. We all know that who you are travelling with affects the experience and mood of travelling
-weather. Again, this can change the whole experience. Being caught in a heavy blizzard while you´re trying to fly over high mountains sounds like fun, right?
Awesome.
@@mischarowe In my middle-grade novel Hide and seek, they are in the twelfth century and there is a journey to the castle. It's not easy to make the journey interesting. When they/ve got away from a tense situation and the journey is post-trauma, it could fall into mundanity. . That's my challenge .
These are lovley examples thank you. 98% of the book I’m working on has the plot unfolding on the road and it’s so hard to make it interesting.
Travel also gives you the opportunity for the character to reflect or to think! Either alone or with a group, there's always a point where there's no dialogue, giving your characters (and readers) an opportunity to be with their thoughts
You've got me. I love my Irish landscapes.
Me too! We drove around Ireland for a week and it was by far my favorite part of our honeymoon!
@@VivienReis Ireland and Scotland are some of my top places to visit
Scotland
One thing that I really loved in the show Game of Thrones (and in the books, of course) was how much character development happened during travel. I'm pretty sure Arya and Sandor's entire relationship developed while they travelled northward and I think the lack of travel narratives in the last two seasons are a big reason why they felt so rushed.
That's because D&D don't knw how to write travel journey
How to write battles/ wars, please 😊 I find this really difficult and I'm scared of coming to it during my first draft
I'm just a novice but I feel that this is my specialty try focusing on the each individual battles and switching up perspective to give the readers a sense of rapid fire pace like in war
I really need this for my first novel too!
I would love this!
If it's within a fantasy setting I highly recommend reading the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. His battle scenes are really good.
@@evagriusponticus4080 I did a scene of conflict in my own novel-like that. My solution was to write about the conflict theatre, weapons, secret powers and so on. Freedom to write the sense of pace you want is key that worked well for me. change until it works to slow or speed up the experience you want the reader to sense first, without the character lead in arks of the grander story pace getting in the way slowing you down. I must personally thank Vivian's excellent description of outlining scenes, it's very powerful and not as hard as it seems because It let me develop an outline easy to manage. Once the theatre of war was clearly planned in my mind for reference later, I experimented with reasons the main characters might think about relating to the war, First is "The Absolute Issue that starts the war" what is a: "Solution that might neutralise the war (AKA wildcard)?" and an "Absolute solution that wins the war". All characters then regardless of being good, neutral or bad can then relate those three points to each other by consequence to the allegiance you choose to write in your novel for all sides at the same time. Hope this helps.
You pronounced my name perfectly! Thank you so much for doing this!!!
You're welcome!! I'm glad I got it right!
I'd have a video request:
A video about Deep POV / Submersive writing, showing how to avoid using telling words such as: see/seen, feel/felt, smell/smelled, touch/touched, think...wondered, thought, etc using showing verbs and nouns.
It would be really cool to have your 7-10 point suggestion format for each of the senses and expressions for "thought".
That would be an exciting video!
make a video on describing surroundings in a scene. luv your videos BTW
Please make a video on how to write a character’s breaking point, and when, and where to write their breaking point in your novel.
Video idea: They say you should never start a book where someone is waking up and other things not to do but we all could use ideas on just what really works for the first hundred words or so. :)
Oooh! Great topic! I was going to re-read The Hobbit to see how Tolkien did it. Lol
A video about how to exposite world building and magic systems would be great! Not just how to build it but how to actually go about writing it
I would love to see a video on how to write a story that takes place in a city/place you've never been in
Thank you for making this channel. Writing can be very solitary work, which is usually fine for me at home with my laptop, but sometimes it's a lot when it goes on for so many hours every day for years. On breaks, sometimes I watch your channel. It feels like someone is writing with me.
Topic suggestion when you are looking for ideas: give a short list of favorite writers that you have studied for their different strengths and explain what they are. For example, me, I look at Patricia Highsmith for suspense, Atwood for dynamic vocabulary, Charlotte Bronte for passion, Poe for dark, poetic emotion, Woolf for complexity and strong voice, Dickens for Christmas scenes. I read through them when I feel stuck or in need of a certain kind of inspiration.
I tried to do my own research for this and came up empty.
Video Idea: Writing Social media in books.
I have a teen fiction and I think it would be weird to not have it in the book considering how active it is in our lives, especially teens.
There is this PERFECT book that happens mostly with the messages of the characters on social media!
It was awkward at first but I got used to it!
Its native language is Azerbaijani, even though I probably could have understand it, I read the version which was translated into Anatolian Turkish. (As a Cypriotic Turk it is easier; we mostly read the books that are translated into Anatolian Turkish, after all Cypriotic Turkish is like a dialect of Anatolian Turkish, and I don't even think that area books translated into Cypriotic Turkish)
Ih and I'm not sure if it is translated into English though.
If i remember correctly, the
book's name was "PS: Zaten Boyun da Küçüktü" meaning "PS: Your Height was Short After All"
(Sorry for my English BTW)
Yay! Just what I needed, with camp nano coming up. Thanks so much Vivien! really appreaciate every video you do, they help my writing greatly :)
This is kismet. I’m working on a travel chapter right now. For a while actually. Thanks for the tips. You’ve given me some tweeking ideas. I’m going to finish that sucker.
Could you please do a video on weaving clues into a story about characters/places in the story without being too obvious or too vague? I'd really appreciate it☺
Thanks for the great tips! Travel scenes really are tricky, and I've both read and written a fair bit of bad travel scenes, this is a great tool to find out why they feel so bad :)
Some of my book might require travel. Finally someone did a video
The fact this was the only video I could have found about writing travel scenes...
Thanks for this though, would be great if you could make another one!
I definitely need more tips on how to write travel scenes! Would appreciate any and every help/tip on this!
In the first travel scene in my novel-in-progress, the city outside is in chaos and my main character gets deathly ill and has to be taken to the emergency room.
Cool! Although that sounds more like an action scene than a travel scene.
It's helping me because I'm writting a trip from California to NYC so I need to do it short or it'll be boring. :)
I love your videos! Each one is so inspiring!
This is exactly what I needed! Thank you very much!
Omg yes! Thank you so much!! I've been struggling and this helps a lot!! 💖
Thanks a lot, I needed this so badly
Your videos literally come at just the right time everytime you upload. I was having trouble writing a travelling scene last night.
Thank you!
thank you for this video, I am working on a travel scene and this will help me so much
Brilliant! My novel is part 'roadtrip' (on foot) and it's a bit daunting. Thank you for all your videos, have found them really useful ❤
That was a fantastic video!! Thank you for covering this topic, Vivien! You do a really great job of jump-starting my creativity with your suggestions and examples!!
Could you consider doing a video on internal dialogue!?
This was really helpful!
My story idea has the main character sneaking away to NYC every night for his own selfish purpose.
I’ve been wanting to add multiple scenes with the protagonist using the train station and with this I feel like I can use these small travel scenes more important to show the true nature or thoughts of the protagonist, it’s their safe space before they throw themselves into madness.
Showing the protagonist’s nervousness on their first night of sneaking out, showing that the character does indeed have empathy or kindness even if it’s in small amounts such as giving money to the homeless or even creating a joyful conversation with a fellow passenger. All of this to balance out the characters greed that moves the real plot.
To have these scenes not just represent travel but also to show the audience their kindness and growth as their acts become more heroic during the train ride to eventually leading them to become more heroic outside the train station, outside their own safe space.
You! Gave me the ideas to create my scenes more like this and I thank you for it 🙏
I’m trying to learn to organize my writing by giving space before a new sentence starts but I’m not sure if that’s how it’s done but I’ll learn, love these videos to make my ideas even more incredible!
Thank you for this video! It was super helpful!
Oooh such a great topic. Totally utilizing the “switch to more interesting” tactic ☺️
I love your videos so much! Your advice is so great, and your voice is so calming and pleasant. Your a wonderful person, and my favorite writing youtuber! Love your pups! And congrats on your baby!
So many kind words! Thank you so much!!
Thanks this was the perfect video for me, lots of travel in my story... Well running for their lives 😉
I'd love tips on writing flashback scenes. I'm a new subscriber and I'm really enjoying your videos! Thanks!
IMHO travel scenes are great ways to explore character dynamics.
Because there is often not much happening you can have characters talk to each other.
Remember that scene from LOTR - The two towers, in which the Rohan people travel to Helm's Deep and Aragorn and Eowyn talk?
I think that is a great scene that feels natural.
Wow you really is a good writter.Thank you for this
Travel plays an important part in my stories. The main characters travel by either, plane, tractor-trailer truck, or spaceship. People always experience space sickness out in space, the ones on planes are usually bored senseless, and the ones in a rig... well, they're just going as fast as possible to make a delivery dead-line. :) None of my characters are taking short trips, but I never give a mile by mile description of the journey either. It's more like... After leaving Earth and running out to the nearest jump point beyond poor Pluto's orbit, a three day trip at just under the speed of light, the main drives howled as the ship seemed to twist along its length before it leapt across five light years of empty space in less than a second... Behold! we're suddenly at the new location and the story can continue...
I love this so much thank you! It really helped me
A video on how to figure out your first chapter would be lovely!
Thank you this is perfect timing! I’m rewriting an old story and most of the book is Hobbit style journey. I realized how much is just the characters sitting and thinking, which was exciting for me because I explained how the characters felt, but upon revision it’s slow and boring. Gotta spice things up!
I'm currently writing my first novel and this has been very helpful. Thank you ✨
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You sound like Kourtney Kardashian.
I need tips to lengthen my novel. I'm an underwriter and could really use your help. Love your advice ❤️
Why do you want to lengthen your novel exactly?
Maybe you're better at writing short stories or novellas.
I don't think adding needless padding is the way to go.
Apart from that: Do you utilize subplots? If you definitely need some padding, try coming up with a subplot that ties into the themes of the main plot.
Also: Do you show instead of tell? Do you give the reader a good impression of your world? Does it feel immersive? Adding some description can both add more atmosphere and lengthen the novel.
To your point about tediously checking in to a stable or an Inn, I've read books where these types of scenes are short and largely uneventful but there is subtext or a subtle clue that doesn't become apparent until the character finds something out later. What I initially thought was a boring bit of process, becomes exciting when we later find out that the stable boy wants to escape and can help them or that the Innkeeper is an informant who sells them out to the enemy.
Also, what genre accepts pages of description? I read quite broadly and even in historical fiction, two or three paragraphs of description are so rare that they stand out as remarkable.
Hehe, yeah, I actually had such a scene in one of my writing projects, because I wanted to describe the bleakness and exhaustion the heroine feels. Tedious and boring was what she also thought it was.
Would love to hear about options for minor conflict to spice up the character arc of the MC!
thanks.
I’ve been struggling for a while over character development. How is it done, is there a template that I could grow off of or is there more to it? Also for a book series, how do you gauge how much development a character undergoes per book? If you could maybe make a video around character development, if you haven’t already, then I’d really appreciate it! You have already helped me out SO much but I still need more help 😂! Thank you!
My book is literally all traveling and it’s soooo hard to write.
The timing of this vid is perfect! I'm writing travel right now and this was so helpful. I myself also have a question too: do you (or does anyone else here) have any tips or examples of a character revealing a bit of their backstory through dialogue? I'm writing a scene in which my main character is talking about a memory as my 2nd character listens, and I'm mainly having issues with how to distribute the information she's telling through the scene . I'm scared of it turning into an info dump!
hi you should check out ovm vlog titled " ambition curse" because it pertains toward future endeavor.
My story has traveling, and I like to describe the nature around it. Also, can you do a video about how to write fight scenes as my story is about giant monsters
Could you make a video about how to write a pivotal, emotional climax trigger?
How about a video on a characters pass or flash backs?
My best friend wants to start writing a novel and he asked me to mentor him on it since i have experience. Can you maybe do a video on mentoring someone?
I love these videos! I was thinking of making a series of videos reading the first 20,000 words of my novel. Do you have any advice , like would it then preclude from publishing later. Is it a good idea 🤷♀️
It’s a travel story in Australia 🇦🇺 😁
how about setting the scene for some place you have never been? the story i am wanting to write is set in Seattle Washington...I live in the south east. i have done some research but still coming up short and stumped on how to portray it correctly.
I thought of another suggestion for another video, maybe? Lol I'm currently struggling with this so I'd love any tips on this. Which is... How do you decide which path to go down for your story? I have a blood bond in my story and I'm trying to decide two different paths which could greatly change things down the road. What I've done in the past is quickly write out different ootikns and let my friends choose which they like best. But this particular thing is huge so I don't know how to choose... Help?! Vivien, or ANYONE please!
do you do book edits?
If I have a story idea and have no traditional writing experience, but have a pretty detailed story laid out, and extremely crudely written... is it possible to hand it off to a more experienced writer that also likes the story, and have him write it? And share writing credit. Is this a thing?
Mine has accidentally gone through time
Hello! I'm a young 17 year old writer who's currently in the process of writing a novel. It's not the first one I've written - but it's the first one that has maturity and one I'm very proud of so far. 90% of the novel is travel and this video helped, but I was wondering because I love to write about almost EVERYTHING including the colour of the tree bark and which direction the sun is hitting it, I can tend to drag out my travel scenes a lot cause I have the idea stuck in my head that EVERY location is important and worthy of discription. So (according to your video) would you suggest I cut out most of the scenery and just focus on character development and certain things that are meaningful to the story WHILE journeying through the landscape? Thanks! 😁
How did you know that I'm struggling with revising a travel scene right now today? XD
Thank you for addressing this topic. :). I'm close to writing a traveling scene in a chapter of my Fantasy novel. They ride on horses and the main protagonist has to ride behind her younger sister on a mare to an old fort. However, they need to take an extended route because the areas around the fort are inhabited by werewolves. Plus, she and her sister need to have serious conversations about past events during this traveling scene/s. As well as camp out during winter with a squadron of soldiers. :). Keep up the good work, Ms. Reis.
Vivien Reis hi
When I go back and edit my novel, I always find the same reoccurrence; not adding enough detail but I don't know how to put more detail
Any tips?
I guess the question is: WHY do you want to add more detail? What is the purpose?
If the purpose is to get your reader a better impression of the "look & feel" of the world, then I suggest adding sense impressions. What do the characters hear or smell? What sights are they impressed by?
If the purpose is to make your characters seem more lively, maybe describe body language.
If the purpose is to make your world stand out against others, do some extensive worldbuilding. Try to find out what sets your world or your locations apart from the generic and describe these features.
... just my thoughts. I don't know if that was helpful to you.
Hi I'm new to writing and just curious if I really should write a novel or anything of the sort. I have a story I do want to share just don't know if a book is the best way to go about it?
"Short Story" also exists as a form and so does "novella".
It does not always have to be the epic novel.
Maybe research the craft needed to write these forms and see whether it's working for you.
And there are internet sharing platforms where you can publish your writing without having to go through the professional publishing process. If you don't want to earn money with it but only do it as a hobby, maybe these platforms are for you.
One is wattpad, but for certain genres there are probably other platforms/sites too.
@@johannageisel5390 thanks for the reply will check it out
@@ivanmalau4945 I wish you much fun and success! :)
Your name means "journey" / "travel" in Dutch ;)
This topic is a doozy. Sex scenes...how much is too much, and how much is too little? Thanks Vivien for all you do for us troubled writers. All love to you, Isla, Steven, Rocky, and Keira. Take care.
How to make your paragon less 2 dimensional video please🙄🙏
Have him go rogue against S.H.I.E.L.D. :D
Damn that one dislike