Two types of travel writing that we've talked about so far are the kind of writing in which you use humor, and the kind of writing in which you don't cross a literal border, but a mental border.
We all agreed that humor is very important in travel writing, but it should not be used in certain serious situations. Writing about mental borders can be sort of similar in this sense. While many people cross mental borders, they do not always feel comfortable writing or talking about them. Just like with humor, an author must pick and choose what they feel comfortable about readers hearing from them.
I think the main difference between these two situations is that when you use humor in your writing, you need to worry about whether your audience might be offended or if they will think it is funny; when you start to write about personal borders that you cross, all you need to think about is whether you are comfortable telling the world about these feelings - it should not matter what the reader actually thinks, because it is something personal you are telling them, and they should consider a priveledge that you felt you could share it.
Both of these types of writing are important to include in travel writing - in the right situations, of course. And knowing whether it is the right situation is probably what will be the difference between well-received writing and something that everyone hates. So be careful!
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Your references to comfort in writing: is the reader comfortable with me saying this- humor or am I comfortable with the reader reading this-mental border, are well-received. I can agree that that is the major difference between the two styles you chose to highlight. choosing your voice wisely is probably the hardest part of being a writer.
ReplyDeleteI like your point about humor. It is very important to use it at the correct times in order to convey the correct messgae to the reader. Also, the crossing of borders is only in reference to yourslef as you've stated, and I agree.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts about humor in writing. There is definitely a time and place when humor is appropriate in writing. In a serious matter it is not appropriate to use humor in your travel writing because it can mislead the readers and confuse them about the situation in which you are presenting.
ReplyDeleteI like how you tackled the issue of humor and its place in travel writing in this post, especially when you tied in how humor and crossing mental borders are similar because they involve the writer deciding on what the reader hears from them. This is because travel writing, like all writing opens the author up to being vulnerable to their readers, exposing them to judgment and potential scrutiny from the outside world. Humor also plays into this, with the reader gaining a greater insight into who the author is, and what they find funny.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that to a certain degree travel writing requires caution, I feel like worrying about it too much would destroy any reality behind the writing people create. Person to person, opinions may differ but to compromise your own opinions based on what other people want to read is also wrong.
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