For travel essays, it’s all in the anecdotes and details

KENT — The secret to a great travel essay, or one of them anyway, is change. “There has to be some change or shift,” said Lavinia Spalding. 

“A lot of times, the best travel stories are when bad things happen,” she told a crowd at Kent Town Hall on Saturday, July 15. 

Spalding spoke along with fellow travel writer Marcia DeSanctis at an event sponsored by the Kent Memorial Library called “There She Goes: Two Travel Writers Tell Their Stories.” 

Spalding has written books and articles about travel and is perhaps best known as the editor of the anthology series “The Best Women’s Travel Writing,” which published its 11th volume last year. 

DeSanctis, who has been published in every volume of the anthology, is a writer for Town and Country and Vogue magazines and is the author of “100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go.” 

During the event, Spalding and DeSanctis read some of their own published pieces, answered questions from the audiences and discussed the key elements of a good travel essay. 

“The successful story is one that only the narrator can tell, but that can appeal to a universal audience,” Spalding said. 

Each edition of The Best Women’s Travel Writing receives about 500 submissions, from which Spalding selects about 30 to include. 

“I look for all of the elements of a good novel,” she said. 

Good characters are another important element in a strong travel essay, and it’s important to remember that a great character does not necessarily have to be human. 

“I’ve always admired how you can turn a hotel, or hair or the weather into a main character,” Spalding said to DeSanctis. 

DeSanctis recalled a particular essay she had written, titled “Connie Britton’s Hair,” about a tough climb up a volcano in Rwanda. While trying to manage her way up the volcano (“I definitely didn’t bring the right shoes,” DeSanctis said) she was wondering about Connie Britton, who starred on the television show “Nashville,” and in particular, how Connie Britton had such great hair. 

“I feel like the hair was one of the characters in that story,” Spalding said. 

“I think that weather, and places and restaurants, are always foils,” DeSanctis said. “Whatever your context is, it’s a foil for what you’re trying to find.” 

Spalding and DeSanctis explained the distinction between a travel essay and a travel article or feature. The essays, which are often written after the fact, focus on small details and events. 

“Little episodes that are seemingly meaningless are the ones in print 30 years later,” DeSanctis said. 

Travel essays also tend to be more personal; they often reflect on connections with other people or personal change. 

“You can be anything when you travel, but you are always a stranger,which makes for a very crisp jumping off point for personal narrative,” Spalding said. 

“I think everyone should write a travel essay, it is the most profound way to connect to a place,” she added.

After the reading and discussion, the audience, eager for more travel writing tips, was able to ask for advice about writing and travel. 

“I think this is a really important time to be traveling,” DeSanctis said. “We all have a chance to be good ambassadors; travel really is the oldest form of diplomacy.” 

Just before the event ended, the writers divulged one last travel writing tip: Details can make or break your story. Both DeSanctis and Spalding discussed how journaling their trips had helped them. 

“It’s so important to write everything down,” DeSanctis said, “especially when you’re young.” 

“It’s all about keeping a detailed journal,” Spalding added. 

“Jot down anything that is sensory, the weather, how the air felt, the temperature of the water, how high the waves are, anything you wouldn’t find in a guide book.”