This is the genre we are going to focus on today. This is known as travel writing.

This type of writing is becoming increasingly popular as more and more people in the world today are travelling.

'So what is different or unique about the style of travel writing,' you might ask.

Let's look at some of the key components.

Travel writing usually follows a more fluid structure that is often called stream of consciousness - in other words, a person writes as if he/she were thinking aloud.

Travel writing emphasises description of people and places more than it does plot structure and development.

In travel writing, there are numerous climaxes throughout the story and there is no clear beginning, middle and end.

Travel writing uses a first-person narrator.

The next logical question is: 'What do people most like about this kind of writing?'

First-person narrator and stream of consciousness is easy for the reader to relate to.

Travel writing enables the reader to experience what the writer is describing.

It is exciting and adventurous.

Now look at the passage on the right which was taken from a travel novel, A Fortune Teller Told Me, written by Tiziano Terzani.

The novel recounts the adventures of one man's travels around the world during the course of a year.

Questions to think about as you read ...

What details do you notice when reading this passage?

Who is narrating the story?

Can you tell from reading the excerpt if this particular scene happens in the beginning, middle or end of the story?

How would you describe the narrator's tone and/or the overall feeling you get when reading this passage?

'The sky grew dense and grey, and we threaded through heavy rain clouds and flashes of lightning among the steep, dark green mountains. The landscape had an extraordinary, primitive beauty ... the Mekong was flat and undramatic, its opaque surface broken now and then by great bubbles of mud ...'

Possible answers to the questions above The passage is clearly full of details. The description of the sky helps the reader to envision a storm. Not only can the reader visualise the scene described, but he/she may also feel the mood of the passage.

The narrator is the first person, plural 'we'.

It is impossible to determine when this scene occurs.

The tone seems relaxed. It flows smoothly, as if the narrator is conversing directly with the reader.

Below is an entry taken from my own travel journal. Does it share the common features of travel writing? Is it descriptive? Is the author's tone relaxed? Is it told in first person? After reading the passage, can you imagine the scene in your mind?

'I met a woman at the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains once. She was a peasant of some sort, dressed in tattered clothes, with dirt on her face. She picked me out of a group of backpackers and pulled me towards her. She walked me down to this little watering hole. It was adorned with flags and mini statues of Buddha, the fragrant touch of incense in the air, clinging to my clothes long after she was gone. She kept pointing at that water, then looking up at me, all smiles and no teeth. I just wanted to hug her, to hold her so tight that she might cry out in a language that I could understand. Later that day, I understood that that is what she had done, only not with words. She had cried out to me

with love.'

Now it's your turn to be a travel writer!

Nearly everyone travels somewhere over the summer holiday.

Even if you don't physically go somewhere, you are certain to make some sort of journey in your imagination.

Following the guidelines above, pick at least one scene from your summer holiday and write about it.

Remember that travel writers are not necessarily trying to relay every moment of their journey.

Instead, they attempt to use their words like photographers use their cameras - to create a snapshot.

If you are having trouble thinking of a scene or place to describe, use the picture above as your inspiration.

Note the details of the image. What are the women wearing? Where do you think they are?

Do they look happy? Create a separate picture of this scene with your own words.

Capture the essence of the place and the people. Happy travelling!