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Started by @Gucci_goblin
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@Gucci_goblin

Writing, word building, names, how to write an effective story, plot help, writers block, genre help, title help and anything else you can think of!

Lossric

Maybe you can help me coming up with an effective way to articulate travel over long distances, but summed up within a reasonable amount of time?
I feel like describing things such as:

  • A 4 hour trip up the road to the next town
  • A 3 week journey across the sea

Are very hard to make come across as "genuine". Anyone can simply say

"You walk down the cobble stone path for a good portion of the day. Stopping to rest only once to eat and regain strength. After a long and tire sum trek to , you finally reach your destination".

It's short and to the point, but doesn't really make anyone feel like their characters did any traveling. The say "Let's go to x town. We'll walk", but most of the time it feels like they are simply teleporting around the map.

Any ideas are very welcome!
Thanks in advance,
-Lossric

@Gucci_goblin

Hey Lossric, it all depends on how short you want these descriptions. To make it more genuine, you may have to build up to it. Nobody just picks up their suitcase and leaves, they have to pack said suitcase. And they need a means of transport. You seem to have a good idea of how they travel. For me, when characters travel and when it takes a while, I make something of it. There are usually stops, or quiet moments during the chaos of travel, but in your case, you can describe the trip.

Example: “The trip to LaGuardia had already been enough of a hassle, but the flight ahead of me would be far worse. It was 8, long, dull hours, and I was unable to sleep, or even focus enough to watch a movie. I took every opportunity to stretch my legs, by pacing the aisles, but I was thankful the minute I stepped off the plane. I could basically smell the Georgia air. Well, I couldn’t, it kind of smelled like an airport.”

That’s barely one paragraph, but it gets across the point that this character had just spent hours on flight. Give the journeys some character, even if they are just blurbs to get transportation across.

I hope this helped!
-Newby

@SavvyWrites

okay, i have a sci-fi/ fantasy thing going on in a post-apocalyptic world, and the 5 characters have to travel from Alaska to Central America, I have a beginning and an end, I just don't know how to make the journey interesting, help is greatly appreciated, keep in mind I am a new writer so some things don't come naturally to me as they would for experienced writers :)

@Gucci_goblin

Hey Savvy Writes! To make the journey interesting, you need to know your characters. They need conflict. Will they fight a common enemy or each other? Will there be bonds formed, romantically or no? Will bonds be broken? You have to decide if you will try to portray your world as normal and how quickly characters adapt to this world or how they are lost, confused and isolated. It’s always good in science fiction to have death looming over each character, as a serious consequence to their curiosities.

Of course, it can’t constantly be action. Make sure to have time for the characters and readers to process the information. Allow your characters to rest, to take in new environments and have entirely average conversations. I’m not saying these conversations need to be bland, but if information is constantly being thrown in readers faces, it gets hard to keep track of the importance of such things. It should also be noted that in post-apocalyptic worlds, silence is dense, thick and desolate. Grab onto that feeling.

You should also try to remember your characters need to grow, unless you are trying to prove a point about them not growing, but it’s incredibly satisfying to see a band of conflicting personalities sticking together just for survival to becoming a cohesive, synchronized team, almost like a family. Also, allow your characters to make mistakes. They are allowed to fuck up something so badly that it affects the rest of the story. That makes them human. Don’t give them the ability to fix a big mistake. Take Mark Watney from The Martian (Yes, the one with the guy stuck on Mars). He destroys his only communication with NASA by accidentally placing an overheated drill on top of Pathfinder. He goes the rest of the story with little to no communication, thus adding to the suspense.

So, go forth and do your best. I know you can do it!
-Newby