Well hello again. Long time, no blog. I had every intention when I set out on my cross-country "Farewell (For Now) Tour" of America to continue my blogging throughout the journey, but for a few reasons, that didn't end up happening. Firstly, the nature of a one-woman road trip across the country and back meant that I spent an inordinate amount of time in my car... alone. While this sort of situation is very conducive to thinking, it's not particularly effective for being able to write any of those thoughts down. At the end of a 10 or 12 hour slog, the last thing I wanted to do was whip out the tablet and go to town, especially knowing I was going to be doing the same thing the very next day. More than that, though, in the midst of all that thinking I was doing, I realized that I'm still not entirely happy with the direction that this blog has taken over the months... or rather, lack of direction.
Ever since I first concocted the idea of signing up for the Mongol Rally, the most common directive I've received from just about anyone and everyone I've ever talked to has been: "you should write a book!". Generally, my response is a dismissive wave of the hand followed by an "oh, I don't know". While writing has traditionally kind of been my "thing" in one form or another, I've always felt that there are so many people out there in the world doing so many wonderful, crazy things (many of them far crazier and more entertaining than the things I've gotten up to) that if I were to throw my hat in that ring as some sort of adventure travel writer, I really needed to make sure that I had something unique to say. Diary entries are fine if your audience is composed of family and friends who know you and have reason to care about your general day-to-day activities, but if I wanted to reach farther than that I knew I needed some sort of an angle; something that would give a complete stranger a reason to want to read what I've written down. Sure, I've got a host of ridiculous stories from my various trips that never fail to entertain at parties, but those kind of lightning in a bottle moments just don't happen often enough to sustain any sort of lengthy narrative. So what's my niche? Where do I fit in? How do I stand out? I went round and round with these questions for ages before finally deciding on a new methodology: Build it, and they will come.
Writers, when faced with blockages, or the kind of crippling self-doubt that drives so many of them ultimately to the bottle (or at least that's my theory, anyway) are often advised simply to write. Something. Anything. Every day. Just keep writing, and eventually inspiration will strike. This blog is the product of my decision to follow that advice and now, nearly nine months in, I'd say it remains a work-in-progress. I'd like to say that taking a break from it while I was back in the homeland helped to give me a new perspective, or some fresh insight into exactly what I want this blog to become, but the truth is I'm still down that same rabbit hole of ambiguity I've been in from the start. Now, however, I find myself in Bangkok, on the cusp of another adventure set to take me across four countries in three months, and so the blogs will continue. Will there be esoteric diary entries? Probably. Will there be useful, practical information in the mix? Hopefully. Will there be entertaining and ridiculous "lighting in a bottle" moments? Definitely. Will my photography skills improve? Maybe. Will I finally find that bit of inspiration I need to figure out where exactly I fit in this crazy world of adventure travel writing? Only time will tell. For now I promise only to write, for better or worse... but hopefully more better than worse.
Ever since I first concocted the idea of signing up for the Mongol Rally, the most common directive I've received from just about anyone and everyone I've ever talked to has been: "you should write a book!". Generally, my response is a dismissive wave of the hand followed by an "oh, I don't know". While writing has traditionally kind of been my "thing" in one form or another, I've always felt that there are so many people out there in the world doing so many wonderful, crazy things (many of them far crazier and more entertaining than the things I've gotten up to) that if I were to throw my hat in that ring as some sort of adventure travel writer, I really needed to make sure that I had something unique to say. Diary entries are fine if your audience is composed of family and friends who know you and have reason to care about your general day-to-day activities, but if I wanted to reach farther than that I knew I needed some sort of an angle; something that would give a complete stranger a reason to want to read what I've written down. Sure, I've got a host of ridiculous stories from my various trips that never fail to entertain at parties, but those kind of lightning in a bottle moments just don't happen often enough to sustain any sort of lengthy narrative. So what's my niche? Where do I fit in? How do I stand out? I went round and round with these questions for ages before finally deciding on a new methodology: Build it, and they will come.
Writers, when faced with blockages, or the kind of crippling self-doubt that drives so many of them ultimately to the bottle (or at least that's my theory, anyway) are often advised simply to write. Something. Anything. Every day. Just keep writing, and eventually inspiration will strike. This blog is the product of my decision to follow that advice and now, nearly nine months in, I'd say it remains a work-in-progress. I'd like to say that taking a break from it while I was back in the homeland helped to give me a new perspective, or some fresh insight into exactly what I want this blog to become, but the truth is I'm still down that same rabbit hole of ambiguity I've been in from the start. Now, however, I find myself in Bangkok, on the cusp of another adventure set to take me across four countries in three months, and so the blogs will continue. Will there be esoteric diary entries? Probably. Will there be useful, practical information in the mix? Hopefully. Will there be entertaining and ridiculous "lighting in a bottle" moments? Definitely. Will my photography skills improve? Maybe. Will I finally find that bit of inspiration I need to figure out where exactly I fit in this crazy world of adventure travel writing? Only time will tell. For now I promise only to write, for better or worse... but hopefully more better than worse.
No comments:
Post a Comment