How to write a travel memoir (and how failure is the best teacher)

“Earnest, hard-won failure can teach you as much as anything.” – Rolf Potts

Note: For information on the Paris-based Travel Memoir classes Rolf is offering to Deviate listeners in 2021, inquire at deviate@rolfpotts.com, or via the online forms at the Paris Writing Workshops website.

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Jeremy discuss breaking into travel writing and learning through failure (4:00); what defines travel memoir, and how it’s different from other kinds of travel writing (11:00); the role of research in travel writing, and the balance between personal expression and reportage (17:00); the travel writing industry, and what topics are covered in Rolf’s Paris Writing Workshop (25:00); and how “flaneuring” in place like Paris can lend a new perspective on place (37:00).

Jeremy Bassetti (@jeremybassetti) is a writer, editor, educator, and host of the Travel Writing World Podcast. His website, travelwritingworld.com, features interviews with travel writers, book reviews, author profiles, and resources for travel writers and their readers. For more about Jeremy, check out jeremybassetti.com.

Notable Links:

• • Storming the Beach, by Rolf Potts (essay)
  • Van Life before #VanLife (Deviate episode)
  • The Last Whalers, by Doug Bock Clark (book)
  • Deviate interview with Doug Bock Clark (podcast)
  • Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert (book)
  • On the Plain of Snakes, by Paul Theroux (book)
  • Deviate interview with Paul Theroux (podcast)
  • Braver Than You Think, by Maggie Downs (book)
  • Deviate interview with Maggie Downs (podcast)
  • Writing Away, by Lavinia Spalding (book)
  • Deviate interview with Lavinia Spalding (podcast)
  • Drunk in China, by Derek Sandhaus (book)
  • Deviate interview with Derek Sandhaus (podcast)
  • The Painter of Modern Life, by Charles Baudelaire (essay collection)
  • Psychogeography (urban exploration strategy)

This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets.