“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...

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

Deviate

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