Travel memoir lab: How your journeys can inspire fictional adventure stories

“That first day in Mumbai, there was the slum to the side of us, there were sports cars that would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars next to people walking with no feet next to 200 people crammed into a bus. Separating those layers in a nuanced way lifts the writing that shows that you've gone there and been respectful of the people who live here.” – Luke Richardson

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Luke talk about Rolf's earliest travel adventures, why going slowly and spontaneously is the best way to travel, and what it's like to travel during times of natural disaster (2:00); how to write travel stories that are both interesting to the home audience and respectful of local communities, and how some of the best travel narratives are quest narratives (9:00); the tension between truth and possibility in storytelling, Rolf's "stranger than fiction" moments on the road, and narratives that inspired Rolf's early travels (17:30); Luke's adventure novels, and the travels that informed them (28:30); how Luke takes notes and records his adventures on the road, and how he writes about places he's never been (35:00); and Luke's advice for people wanting to write fictional adventure novels (41:00).

Luke Richardson is a traveler, author, and DJ based in England. His adventure novels include The Ark Files, The Atlantis Agenda, and The Giza Protocol. He hosts the Adventure Story Podcast.

Notable Links:

• Paris Writing Workshops (Rolf's annual creative writing classes)
• Jumping freight trains in the Pacific NW (Deviate episode)
• Alexander Supertramp (Into the Wild protagonist Chris McCandless)
• Van Life before #VanLife (Deviate episode)
• Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts (2003 book)
• The WEIRDest People in the World, by Joseph Henrich (2020 book)
• Toura Incognita, by Rolf Potts (2001 article that mentions spirit possession in Laos)
• Brentwood, Los Angeles (wealthy suburb in California)
• Marco Polo Didn't Go There, Rolf Potts (2008 book)
• Martin and Osa Johnson (1920s adventurers and filmmakers)
• Lake Paradise (wilderness area in northern Kenta)
• On the Trans-Siberian Express, by Rolf Potts (1999 essay)
• No Baggage Challenge (Rolf's 2010 round the world journey)
• Apocalypse Not: One Month on the Mekong, by Rolf Potts (1999 essay)
• In medias res (literary device)
• Malekula (island in Vanuatu)
• Kava (psychoactive beverage)
• Bislama (creole language in Vanuatu)
• Mentawai Islands (archipelago near Sumatra)
• Gaita asturiana (Spanish bagpipes used in Cuba)
• Blue Highways, by William Least Heat-Moon (1982 book)
• Video Night in Kathmandu, by Pico Iyer (1988 book)
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986 John Hughes movie)
• Before Sunrise (1995 Richard Linklater movie)
• Lara Croft (protagonist of the Tomb Raider franchise)
• Clive Cussler (adventure novelist)
• Dan Brown (author of thriller novels)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

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