Along with identifying and writing about your quest with care, another key element to any travel story is well-placed backstory.
The backstory you choose to include must connect to your quest. Your reader needs to know WHY that amber ring in Prague is so meaningful to you, or WHY you have decided to reconnect with your estranged sister in Rome, or WHY you are searching for the meaning of life in Phuket.
That reason originates from a moment or moments in your past. Give us a glimpse into those moments, and you’ve found another way to hook your reader on your travel story.
Some do’s and don’ts of backstory:
Do seamlessly guide your reader into your backstory.
Perhaps the smell of bread baking at a café near your hostel in Prague reminds you of that summer at your grandma’s house when you were nine, where you first discovered and played with your grandmother’s jewellery.
Perhaps a monk on your meditation retreat in Phuket asks you directly: “Why are you here?” In either case, sense memory or more direct questions from someone you meet allow you to slip back in time in your narration, and fill the reader in on the backstory of your quest.
Don’t overwhelm your story with backstory.
The ‘present’ of your story is the main piece of your tale. Don’t give us too much backstory, and leave the reader thinking that you’ve abandoned your original tale all together for something deeper in your past.
Do bring us back to the ‘present’ of your story in a seamless way.
Perhaps your travel companion taps you on the shoulder, bringing you out of your memory. Perhaps you hear the gong of a meditation bell. Perhaps the man in the café asks what you’re going to order. Use the senses to bring the reader back to the present of your story.
Only include backstory that’s relevant to your quest.
Every little tidbit isn’t going to appeal to the reader. In fact, backstory that doesn’t clearly connect to your quest is going to be confusing for the reader, and make them think the story has shifted, or is not fulfilling its original intention.
Write down a list of moments from your past that do directly connect to your quest.
These moments are the origins of your quest, and will reveal the ways in which this desire has only been reinforced over the years, building up to this particular travel journey.
Without backstory, your reader isn’t going to know why your quest is meaningful to you, and therefore they’ll only be guessing at the deeper meaning of your story. The way to really hook a reader is to show them why this desire is so important to you, to show them what it would mean to you to achieve this goal. Convey this, and the reader will be on your side, rooting for you to achieve your quest, or at least learn something necessary from the experience.
