Writing a Travel Journal

Memories the Old-Fashioned Way

Hello students,

Today in the lab we will have a look at what a travel journal is. You probably remember the travelogue you had to write about a year ago. Even though a travel journal is similar to a travelogue in certain ways, you'll realize that a journal is a more personal kind of writing.

Writing a travel journal is a major part of many travels - they can be among your most prized possessions.

Why keep a journal when there are so many other options - you could create a blog, use social bookmarking, email, phone...?

Because there is something special about turning the pages of a new notebook on the first day of a trip, writing your name, the date, and the name of the place you're in.

Sometimes, when on the road, thoughts and feelings still flow better with pen and paper. Somehow filling a page sitting on a beach or under a jacaranda tree feels more 'foreign' than the Internet café.

People have many reasons for writing a travel journal. There is the reportage function - simply recording the facts, such as the location of a great food stall or a particular train timetable, etc.

Writing a travel journal is also a way of sharing your journey - with new friends along the way, or with family and friends back home when you return.

Your journal can also be intimate and private, never to be shown, to be guarded preciously.

Sometimes, a journal is a friend. Some people mostly travel alone so putting their thoughts and feelings down on paper is often the only way they have to discuss them with anyone.

And the travel journal can also be a mirror. When you write, you’re at your most honest. Since you can't really erase or delete what you've written, once your words are on the page, that's it.

What do you write about?

Here is a list of the common parts of a travel journal:

• What you see when you look around: colors, textures, people, houses, nature, cars, children, anything out of the ordinary or that sticks in my mind
• People you meet: what they look like, what they're wearing, what they say, what gestures they use, their language and customs
• What you hear: opinions, stories, random conversations
• Where you stay and eat: memorable hotels, huts, coconut vendors
• Your day-to-day occurrences: what you do that's different from what you would do at home - take a shower outdoors in the tropical rain with a bottle of baby shampoo as soap would qualify.
• Your feelings: are you lonely, tired, happy, curious, homesick, exhilarated, recently showered.
• Your thoughts: how things are different, what upsets you and why, new things you've learned

And what about the writing itself?

Here are a few basic travel journal writing rules:

• Write like you speak.
• When in doubt, read out loud. You'll know immediately how it reads if it sounds cumbersome or unclear.
• Keep it simple. No convoluted ideas. One thought, one sentence.
• Use active verbs: He bought the bag - NOT the bag was bought by him.
• Use evocative words. Rather than 'the sun was very bright', try 'the sun was luminous'. Rather than 'my clothes were very wet', try 'my clothes were soaked'.
• Speaking of picture, draw them in your mind. A sentence that paints a picture in the reader's mind is a strong sentence.

 Activity 1

Let's have a look at a writing journal sample. Click on the following link.

http://emilyschooley.blogspot.com/2007/09/sample-travel-journal-personal.html

Go through the travel journal and answer the following questions:

1. From the ones described above, what parts of a travel journal can you identify? Quote.
2. What positive and negative adjective are employed to describe Japan? Make a list. 
3. What kind of adjectives are used the most? How does this affect the impact of the journal?

Activity 2

Watch the following extract form the film "Cast Away". Write an entry in your travel journal considering the parts and the rules of travel journal writing described above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUDEjulbqzk