How to extend travel scenes?

[Aiden014 6]

One thing that can be hard when writing is making travel scenes longer than just 3 paragraphs describing where they went and how the journey felt like (hot or cold, mountainous or flat) I want to make it longer, but it is plain hard!

[HK1 1,859]

1 hour ago, Aiden014 said:

One thing that can be hard when writing is making travel scenes longer than just 3 paragraphs describing where they went and how the journey felt like (hot or cold, mountainous or flat) I want to make it longer, but it is plain hard!

Those scenes are hard to write! Instead of summarizing the whole journey, I'd pick out the most interesting part and have a scene about that. For example, if the characters have a close call with an avalanche. That way, you can show your characters are traveling without subjecting your readers to summaries. Then you can have another scene once your characters have arrived at their destination to show they made it.

[Aiden014 6]

Thanks

[William D'Andrea 668]

     If you'd like to read an example of an extended travel scene, you can check out the opening chapter of my uncompleted novel "Harem Wars".  It doesn't just describe the passing scenery, it also begins to establish the major elements of the tale.

    It's posted on the writers website fanstory.com

    www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?hd=1&id=889942

    There are also posted warnings about violence, language and sexual content.  However, in the first chapter there is no violence, and the sexual content is only found in some of the characters language.

Edited January 8 by William D'Andrea

[Chris Brown 137]

2 hours ago, Aiden014 said:

One thing that can be hard when writing is making travel scenes longer than just 3 paragraphs describing where they went and how the journey felt like (hot or cold, mountainous or flat) I want to make it longer, but it is plain hard!

I've tried to add character dialogue into the travel scenes, so it becomes more about them interacting with each other and with the setting than just a description of the setting. 

[Zee 1,905]

Looks like everyone has some good tips for you. I like the idea of introducing thematic elements to make a simple journey more significant. For example, if the story as a whole is about overcoming a major obstacle (maybe not necessarily a physical one) the characters could struggle to ford a river, or face hunger and thirst after getting lost, or avoid an avalanche, as @HK1suggested.

 

I don’t think there’s any reason why a simple journey from A to B needs to be recounted in detail, if the only reason it’s in the story is to show that characters moved from A to B, but otherwise...have fun.

[Aiden014 6]

Thanks for the feedback!

[Amosathar 363]

As someone who tries to write and describe the movie, I see in my mind when I am trying to write my book, one pitfall we can fall in to is that we describe too much, if all we are doing is describing the journey and scenery but the characters are not doing anything significant or having a conversation, people will get bored with the narrative. The best way as I have been shown is to weave the descriptions and scenery with the actions or behavior of the characters so they are still the main focus. Also need to be careful that you don't over describe the scenery and leave the reader with nothing for their imagination to fill in, readers invest when they can create the scenes in their own mind, but if you tell them everything they might have trouble seeing that in their imagination. 

[Ky_GirlatHeart 1,231]

If you're having your characters travel to a place that you've already been to, then use your adventures in that location and what you saw, what you did, where you went, etc. to help develop your scenes. You can also do this with a scene that's similar to a place that you've already been to. If it's a foreign place or some landscape that is unfamiliar to you, do some research. Ask on the Writing and Publishing forum if anyone's been to that certain place/area and see how others can help you. A while ago, I was able to get some advice from a couple of people about a certain airport I needed info on. (I don't know if you were looking for that exactly; forgive me if you weren't.)

Like Amosathar said, don't get too caught up in describing scenery. Yes, you will be tempted to, but you'll be rambling and would bore your readers. And like a few others said, use some dialogue and a very interesting event that occurs (HK1 mentioned an avalanche) to draw your readers into the plot.

Hope that helped!!

[ThePerilousPen 301]

Aha! I may have some tips! 

 

So one thing I like to do is describe what the outside looks like! The color of the sky can tell me what time of day it is, and the types of trees can give me a guess of where I am. I like to be able to picture stuff in my mind, so be vivid! Include emotions that describe how the characters feel about the trip--are the excited? nervous? maybe a bit afraid? curious?  

 

of course, don't go into an overload of detail lol. but using a good amount will help your readers picture the place(s)