Analyse the importance of travelling to experience other cultures on the creative writing process (either your own experience or an author you are familiar with).
I think it would be good to include the aspect of travel as not necessarily only the aspect of exploring other countries and cultures, but to use 'travel' as a metaphor for stepping outside of our comfort or familiarity zone even in everyday life, and thereby creating more depth and experience to draw upon in our writing. – MonicaGrant6 years ago
Stepping outside of the world you know and into the unknown or the other worlds we’ve only read about is essential to unclogging writer’s block. As MonicaGrant said it’s also about getting out of your comfort zone, mentally. Traveling allows you to open up to these new spaces in your mind. It gives you new perspectives and issues to expand upon. Traveling gives you the opportunity to tell the people’s story of them that may not have a voice. – Jailel5 years ago
I agree with the sentiment that "travel" us a metaphor for stepping outside of one's comfort zone. Furthermore, an author travelling and exploring the unknown lends proper authenticity in regards to escapism, a trait that so many, if not all creative pieces, aim to have readers experience. – TahliaEve5 years ago
I'm wondering if this relationship might be more reciprocal than the suggested topic allows. What if creative writing is what encourages people to travel? – kelseyodegreef5 years ago
I definitely like this idea as I think many on this site could relate to the ideas expressed and would be interested to hear another's input. Especially when analyzed through the work of a few great authors of the past. – RJSTEELE5 years ago
Travelling I always feel can be taken both from a figurative and literal perspective as what one does in promoting their individual growth. The individual experiences of every writer play significant role in how their works turn out, and as such exploring not only the literal notion of traveling from one place to another, but also the mental traveling one endures when dealing with day to day life would be interesting for discussion. – ajaymanuel5 years ago
An example that could be drawn upon is Steinbeck's Travels with Charley: In Search of America. – EJSmall5 years ago
W.G. Sebald’s Rings of Saturn is an interesting read that could tie in will here – Samantha Leersen4 years ago
Travel de-centers our way of thought for reasons that startle, astound, confuse, intrigue, and all of the above. This happens because we don't know how we are meant to "feel" or "think" in a place that is culturally distinct from our own. In short, our way of life is being challenged, and we feel the need to confront the new in order to re-center ourselves. – JuanGomez3 years ago
From a literal sense, actually traveling to locations, especially those that enjoy a culture much different from our own, is enlightening: both on an intellectual level and one of pure pleasure, experiencing the vernacular within language, architecture and geographical differences, experienced in both plein-air and urban landscapes, together are catalysts (or persuasive elements) vital for the creative thinking. Though we have the means to travel through virtual conduits, these fantastical journeys can only, barely prick, our inner emotions, desires and social consciousness of the world around us: the virtual experience feeds only the mind, but only reality can be prick our souls. Lance A. Lewin – Fine Art Photographer/Instructor/Lecturer
Georgia USA
– LanceLewin3 years ago
Writing about other cultures without not visiting the related destinations is the same as describing the taste of food if you haven't tried it. Travelling is a must, otherwise, it's just work based on theories. – Christof Claude2 years ago
The cultural differences would certainly stand out and would be addressed. But, with culture, there is so much that picking and choosing what to address becomes the issue. – Joseph Cernik2 years ago
traveling is what actually encourages people to write an example would be 'the happiness of pursuit 'by chris Guillebeau-fanlove – FANLOVE2 years ago
I think travel does fuel creativity. Wordworth's awe for the abbey led him to write one of the greatest poems of all time. I lived in another country for a few months and was forced to adapt to local life. I came back home afterwards and oh boy did it really inspire my creativity and view of the world afterwards! – aumi9 months ago
Analyse how travel is important to the films' plot. For instance, it helps broaden the horizons for both viewer and characters. If one travels, one's mind is highly likely to broaden to what lifestyle someone can live in. In the case of the films' characters, it brings more interest to their story, they see new places, have constant change.
This is an interesting propostion. I would suggest defining the genre of what movies will be taken into account. There is, I believe, a very essential difference between realism and sci-fi for example which, in relation to travel, will entail diverse approaches and methods for analysis.
– Kaya6 years ago
Thank you, Kaya, for your feedback! I was not focusing on any genre specifically when I wrote this. If I had to choose, it'd be action, drama, comedy, and/or fantasy, since it is with those films that the setting has a tendency to change. – Yvonne T.6 years ago
I agree with Kaya. Focusing on a specific genre or even a specific film would make the topic very interesting to explore. I think you're right to focus on both the character and the viewer, as both experience the journey and are affected by it. – JamesBKelley5 years ago
When suddenly placed in a new location our brains tend to do funny things. We inhale air we have never tasted, brush our fingers along foreign rock, and bath our eyes in completely new sights. Something about travel bungles our minds. It's as if we've received an electric shock and our neurons have gone nutty, rearranging themselves to create new thought patterns. Of course this doesn't literally happen but change in environment and routine can cause us to think differently, making new synapses in our brains. Travel can introduce a new perspective, one we've never thought of before, or provide fascinating characters that we never would have found from our couches. When we find ourselves somewhere new we tend to pay more attention to everything around us. Our heightened sense of awareness reveals things we might not have noticed if we lived there. Travel can perhaps be described as shock therapy. Removing oneself from an everyday routine can be utterly refreshing, especially for a writer.
This is a really cool topic. Maybe to make it a more focused discussion, give some examples of authors who were inspired by places. It is a little broad so giving an example of a book that was inspired by a place or by travel will help. – birdienumnum178 years ago
I can relate to this. Every time I travel I make sure to bring a fresh notepad and a good stack of pens. Being in a new environment is great for making you feel inspired. – TheK38 years ago
Without travel, we are prisoners to our own lives. Trapped within our schedules, just another pawn of society. Travel provides an escape to the systematic mundanities of life. – finmb998 years ago
This sounds like a very fascinating topic. I know from personal experience that travelling has enabled me to think of many ideas for plot, historical settings and character development, and can assist in painting more accurate context for works that are set in other countries and/or time periods. – SophIsticated8 years ago
Yes, travelling can make for more interesting stories because you are able to relate to the place better after visiting it. Also if you are creating a fictional place you can still that place as the backdrop to you fictional place. – Sazadore8 years ago
Writing freed the mind from the burden of memory, led to development of more rational, and reflective thought, and allowed for communication beyond the limitations of space and time. Next level is accessible due to the development of the Internet: we can combine writing with pictures, animations and sound. – seadspuzic8 years ago
I love the idea of this topic. Every time I travel to new places, I scramble to put down notes of everything I encounter - sights, sounds, tastes... There's nothing like being in a new country immersed in another culture to get the creativity flowing, especially when you dig a little deeper and research the history of the places you're going to as this can lead to more interesting stories. – CandiceLocklee8 years ago
excellent topic choice, I find travelling has a similar effect on me. Dreams become far more vivid and memorable; due to the amount of new experiences had in the daytime. The constant refreshing of ones surroundings provides a writer with inspiration for creative thought, giving a writer the basis for; a new storey, character or setting. Travelling distorts the senses in a really fascinating way, our eyes see unusual things, we hear different languages constantly, our pallet processes new flavours whilst whiffing pungent odours. I think it often parallels psychedelic drug experiences like LSD, explaining why the effects are known as: 'tripping'. – Iliasbakalla8 years ago
Agree traveling allows you to experience other cultures. If you're an Artist, writer etc. Bringing knowledge outside of where one lives helps expand our minds and become more in tune with other people in the world. – rghtin2be7 years ago
In the 19th century in Britain there was a rise of what was known as the travelogue - a travel novella that was aimed at capturing both the exotic wider lands of the world, but also reinforces the superiority of the British citizen. One of the first spoofs of this is HG Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau. I think when we talk about the travel novel we also need to comment on the issue of the author lens - the interpretation of experiences and culture through the contextual background of the author's own background. Looking at post-colonial literature theory in relation to travel novels can be both enlightening and depressing for this reason, but I think it is still an area that needs careful consideration. Just a thought. – SaraiMW7 years ago
What storytelling techniques are used to invoke the feeling of wanderlust in film?
"Midnight in Paris" is one of my favorite movies ever. It deals with time travel and wanderlust. Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) suffers from "golden age thinking," believing he would be happier in another time period than his own. I think this golden age thinking ties in with the setting of the film, i.e. Paris, to where he has traveled. I think that the technique of implementing time travel into a movie about being abroad definitely invokes feelings of wanderlust. – Christina Legler9 years ago
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a very inspirational story about traveling. Even more - this film involves the question of self-estimation. I personally started my own trip after this film. And I strongly recommend to check out this film! Who knows, maybe one day you'll have the same awesome experience.
– Brenda177 years ago
People first need to know what is the relation between the title and the body of this topic. – T. Palomino2 years ago
