Travel writing is journalism which lets the readers traverse the world on sheets of paper. Reading of travel can provide the inspiration and information to set the readers in motion, or it can transport foreign locales right into the readers' living room. The author, by writing travel writing and sharing personal travel experiences, is trying to entertain and involve the readers. The voice of travel writing is very individualistic. Generally, there are three essential elements in travel writing, which are honesty, revealment of emotion and the author's thoughts about landscape, people and places visited. These three elements play important roles and make good travel writing. In Bruce Chatwin's book The Songlines, Chatwin covers the three elements and creates this fascinating literature.
The southern part of the Grwyne Fechan valley in t...
English: This systematic overview categorizes the ...
n387_w1150Sometimes it is difficult to face the truth; it is even worse to write it down, so being honest is very important in travel writing. From a psychological perspective, most humans have the fear of placing private truths before an audience, and, even have trouble to interpret their memories. However, it is very necessary for a travel writer to overcome the fear and be honest to the readers. First of all, honesty brings an accurate perspective of the author's travel experiences. The purpose of travel writing is to tell the author's own travel experience; therefore, the author cannot make a story up. In The Songlines, Chatwin recounts through anecdotes, different parts of Australia and the various adventures he experienced. The tone is sincere and intimate. Relying on his honesty, chatwin successfully draws a picture for his readers to comprehend. Moreover, the author's honesty gives the readers an impression of sincerity, which makes the reader have desire and patience to continue reading, especially for travel writing. By reading Bruce Chatwin's The Songlines, I was...