An audiobook about how (not) to write a travel book: 9 lessons from my failed van-life memoir

“No endeavor to write a travel book is ever lost, since it gives you a useful perspective on (and intensified attention to) the reality of the travel experience itself. When embraced mindfully, the real-time experience of a journey is invariably its truest reward.”  –Rolf Potts

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf touches on nine lessons from attempting to write a (never finished) van-life vagabonding memoir at age 23, including:

On Pilgrims in a Sliding World (1:00)

Lesson #1: No work is lost (and “failure” has lessons to teach)

On the author as a character (6:30)

Lesson #2: “Show, don’t tell” is still good narrative advice

On depicting other people (14:30)

Lesson #3: Travel books require reporting (not just recollecting)

On recounting dialogues (22:30)

Lesson #4: Be true to what was said (but make sure it serves a broader purpose)

On veering from the truth (32:30)

Lesson #5: The truth tends to work better than whatever you might make up

On depicting places (39:30)

Lesson #6: “Telling details” are better than broad generalizations about a place

On neurotic young-manhood (48:30)

Lesson #7: Balance narrative analysis with narrative vulnerability

The seeds of Vagabonding (1:01:30)

Lesson #8: Over time, we write our way into what we have to say

The journey was the point (1:06:30)

Lesson #9: In the end, taking the journey counts for more than writing it

Books mentioned:

• The Geto Boys, by Rolf Potts (2016 book)
• Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts (2003 book)
• The Anxiety of Influence, by Harold Bloom (1973 book)
• On the Road, by Jack Kerouac (1957 book)
• The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (1951 book)
• Epic of Gilgamesh (12th century BCE Mesopotamian epic)
• Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes (17th century novel)
• The Travels of Sir John Mandeville (14th century travelogue)
• True History, by Lucian of Samosata (2nd century novella)
• Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson (21st century memoir)
• Marco Polo Didn't Go There, by Rolf Potts (2008 book)
• Labels: A Mediterranean Journal, by Evelyn Waugh (1930 book)

Essays, poems, and short stories mentioned

• "The Mystical High Church of Luck," by Rolf Potts (1998 essay)
• "Greenland is Not Bigger Than South America", by Rolf Potts (1998 essay)
• “The Faces,” by Robert Creeley (1983 poem)
• "Reflection and Retrospection," by Phillip Lopate (2005 essay)
• "Why so much travel writing is so boring," by Thomas Swick (2001 essay)
• ".css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}