Are we "bores" with our travel stories? (page 9 of 16)

Totally agree with you about the difference between "imposed" stories (from family, friends, etc.) and those published online where everyone has the freedom to read... or skip right away!

The book that inspired this topic is not only well-regarded but also turns out to be short—any longer, and it would’ve definitely been a snooze!

A humor book, that’s fine 😉

But I’ll admit that among all the travel books I’ve read, some have given me wings and inspired me, while others really bored me... just like the constant media presence of their authors.

That’s just how travel goes 🙂

"The travel blog is the slide-show evening that lasts six months."😎

Unforgettable—that’s probably my favorite quote from the whole book! 😄 That, and the idea of making up quotes and attributing them to Goethe...

The art of boring the reader with a lazy little sum. And then, Debureaux, with such a surname, are you even qualified to talk about travel? Are you really in a position to address travelers in the imperative a hundred and fifty times? To pile up worn-out clichés haphazardly? Does quoting Barbey protect you from being boring yourself?

The funniest sentence—though I suspect it’s a typo, it’s so light as a feather compared to the rest, which is written with a bazooka—is on page forty-six. It’s the one sentence that might hint at a shred of self-deprecation from this traveler: Declare the contents of your backpack. A peacock flute, a dagger, a hammock, a bear spray, and a few pairs of underwear... And bam!

Alright, Jean, I’m off to read your Mauritian travel journal to see how many pitfalls you’ve fallen into. 😉

Your post is really funny and well-written, bravo! That typo with the original "peacock" flute was hilarious—I didn’t even notice it when I read it!

About my latest (and previous) travel journal, of course, you can spot a few of the most common pitfalls of travel writing... some of the ones mentioned in Debureaux’s book.

Cheers, Jean http://voyageforum.com/discussion/ile-maurice-lagon-autre-par-routes-sud-d7307776/

Hello, I’m adding my two cents to the discussion. This thread—and this book—that I’ve just discovered make me wonder if I, too, have fallen into the trap. Personally, I write my travel journals first and foremost for a handful of loved ones back home, either because I know they’d love to share in my experiences but can’t, or to ease their worries: - Aren’t you afraid to travel alone? - At your age, do you really think it’s wise to go to such remote places? - And with your illness? What if you lose your meds or they get stolen? You’d be as good as dead. You forget that without them, you should’ve been gone long ago... I reply that without my meds, I *would* die—but not overnight, so I’d have time to catch a flight before taking that final trip. About my age, I tell them about Alexandra David-Néel and all the travelers I meet on the road who are much older than me and give me a real life lesson. My career choices have fulfilled me but also kept me tied down, never allowing me to take the long trips I see others boasting about in their impressive resumes. A week here, two weeks there—they’ve visited the whole planet, but what do they *really* know about the collection of countries they claim to have done? As for traveling solo, it’s sometimes frustrating not having someone to share the adventures—or misadventures—with. Otherwise, day to day, I say I’ve had a few bad experiences with travel companions that ruined my happy solo days. Maybe traveling with someone is harder than going alone? But I’m getting off track... So, I’ve never published anywhere. However, at the request of a few people here on VF, I decided to give it a shot. https://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=7727390&idl=3028470&idl2=7067620&idl3=7811510999&#7727390 With such a delay that, in the end, I’m recounting a trip from three years ago. Why that one? It just happened that way. I didn’t want to start with the most recent. As for the oldest, it’d be interesting—more for me than for my readers—to revisit it and see how India, and especially *myself*, have changed. And if I’ve been called out multiple times for my words or my style, it’s because they don’t leave people indifferent. The advantage of publishing here on VF is that those who aren’t interested can just move on or simply stop reading me.

Traveled the world? Traveled your own monotony! There’s also: Travel? The pretense of existing. And again: Travel? The dizziness of fools. (That last one’s from Céline). Pretty accurate, right?

Traveled the world? Traveled your own monotony!. There’s also: Travel? The pretense of existing. And again: Travel? The dizziness of fools. (this last one is from Céline). Pretty accurate, right?

Especially really pretentious.

What if we kept it simpler?

Traveled the world? Traveled your own monotony! There’s also: Travel? The pretense of existing. And: Travel? The dizziness of fools. (That last one’s from Céline). Pretty accurate, right?

...let’s just say it works less well with spelling mistakes...

Traveled the world? Traveled your own monotony!. There’s also: Travel? The pretense of existing. And then: Travel? The vertigo of fools. (this last one is from Céline). Pretty accurate, right?

Maybe for some gloomy minds, incapable of seeing anything else. 🤪

I’m digging this discussion out of the archives since it’s still so relevant. 🙂

The present, like travel, is just an isolated act in a play... Without the journeys that came before or the surprises yet to come, it’s completely devoid of story... But that’s another topic 😉...

Well said. That’s what we call a simulacrum—a kind of hyperreality. But yeah, that’s a whole other topic 🙂

I'm digging this discussion out of the archives since it's still so relevant.🙂

In the spirit of "still relevant," a mutual friend reminded me of this one:

https://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=5897545;a=5897545

Alan sure could write well. 😉

There's this one too. Censored because a travel journal was being torn apart there.

Hello, I’ll add my two cents... it seems pretty clear online—especially with blogs or even travel journals on forums—that the posts that "tell their trip" (or should I say "tell their life") tend to get the most attention. Some well-made info-sharing sites do well too, since they’re genuinely useful. But the ones that keep coming back to the forefront are those where the author puts themselves front and center, sharing their own story. They’re not just showing a photo or video of a landscape—they’re showing *themselves* in that landscape, and that makes all the difference.

Whether you like it or not, there’s clearly a deep need for recognition in these authors, and for some, barely concealed narcissism. Just look at those who turn it into a career: the focus isn’t really travel anymore—it’s all about them. The number of glowing comments some stories get shows that, yes, a lot of people love living vicariously, reading these accounts and showering praise on strangers.

Talking about yourself, putting yourself out there, and sharing travel stories in the first person works *really* well. Posting about your trips is like putting photos of yourself online (Instagram, Facebook, etc.). No one’s asking you to do it, but the success it brings means nothing’s stopping you—and you’re even encouraged to keep going!

We shouldn’t criticize those who live vicariously or don’t experience things firsthand. And we shouldn’t judge those who constantly share their lives, since it clearly works and people can’t get enough.

But instead of calling them boring, maybe we should ask: Do those who constantly talk about their lives—who feel the need to do it on forums or elsewhere—just have oversized egos? Are they narcissistic and self-centered? Does it reveal something pretty unhealthy, something very much in line with our "me, me, me" era and the selfie obsession? Boring? Maybe. Narcissistic and pretentious? Almost certainly.

Personally, I find it pretty logical not to read stories from someone I don’t know at all. And I find it kind of strange when someone feels the need to share their life, their vision, their adventures—basically making their private travel journal public.

But as someone else said, on a forum, you can just skip what doesn’t interest you. Of course, this is just my opinion.

......true ...it's also a question of age and social media presence: you inevitably post when you go (for example) to NYC.....

there is undoubtedly a deep need for recognition among these authors, a barely concealed narcissism for some.

I totally agree—narcissism is something I brought up on this forum a while back. When people become too narcissistic (which is what marketing and self-help culture push for), the risk is falling through the other side of the mirror—since, metaphorically, narcissism is all about staring at your own reflection. Long story short, if you fall through the other side, you might just lose it. 😎

Just look at those who manage to turn it into a career—the focus isn’t really on travel anymore; everything ends up revolving around their own little world.

I completely agree.

Just look at how many glowing comments some travel stories rack up,

Totally agree, and constantly dishing out praise is right in line with that overly positive, typically North American mindset—but that’s a whole other topic. Critical thinking is disappearing…

and talking about yourself, putting yourself forward, sharing your travels in the first person works really well... Coming to tell your travel stories is like posting photos of yourself online (Instagram, Facebook, etc.). Nobody asks us to do it, but given the success it meets, nothing stops us from doing it—we’re even encouraged, and we get caught up in the game!

Hello, If it’s meeting with some success, then it must be bringing something to readers. Talking about yourself and achieving success that way... that’s the dream!

Personally, I find it pretty logical not to read the stories of someone I don’t know at all... and I find it quite strange that someone feels the need to talk about themselves and flaunt their vision, their life, their adventures. Basically, to make their private journal public...

If everyone saw things like you do, there wouldn’t be many writers 😉

As for me, when it comes to online travel journals (which, for the most part, don’t claim to be literature), I don’t mind at all if they’re very personal, narcissistic, etc... as long as the author has a personality that brings something to me, of course. Obviously, reading the private life of someone I find tacky (each to their own definition) doesn’t interest me at all.

To wrap up, I’d say that reading someone’s private life online isn’t any more or less interesting than reading a stranger’s opinion on this or that subject... Sharing your opinion publicly in front of a crowd of strangers seems just as narcissistic to me.

If everyone saw things like you, there wouldn’t be many writers 😉

hmm, isn’t there a bit of a contradiction here? In my opinion, the era of "writers" is over—what matters now is the number of books sold in bookstores or big-box stores.

Obviously, reading about the private life of someone I find tacky (everyone has their own definition) doesn’t interest me at all

As a suggestion, there are ways to make a text more engaging, like using literary devices. But we shouldn’t overlook the substance either