The Writing Life Too

Woosh I have a lot of email these days. Found something I want to share.

A student writes from Paris where she’s staying for a year: How do I capture this place? Just returned from the Vosges Mountains and wanted to thank you for all your suggestions on travel writing. Every idea is helpful! One of the things that has stayed with me that I heard you say once was that you look at life as a tourist and write through those eyes. Everyday holds something if we just remember to look for it. I'm trying to find a way to organize and best compile travel notes I should be taking during this year here. I haven't done enough of it and your mention of it brought it home that I really need to.

Merci beaucoup,____

Dear______; If I were you I'd pay attention to the small things around me. Notice how the air feels and smells, the temperature, the trees, the way women walk in the street. Colors, always colors. And architecture. Look up. What color is the sky? How do the natives react to weather? Think back to your first days there and what struck you as vastly different from the U.S. Pay attention to how holidays are different, the quality of light in all its seasons, art, objects, food, and people you'll never see here. Notice what the French do for comfort, how their homes are decorated and arranged, how the French react to political news, the sounds of the night, the street, the countryside. How do the seasons change? Who attends church? Where do the children play?

Go to cafes and public places and write. You might also try selecting a single thing that you're going to pay attention to in a single day--water in all its forms, the color red, scarves, bread, laughter, bicycles. Pretend you're a detective, a spy, a woman of mystery, a gypsy.

I believe that all writers must carry a notebook around at all times and eavesdrop on the world. We need to gather, scavenge, and record what we witness via the senses so that these remembrances can show up in our writing. Live with awareness. Sketch even if you're no good at it and jot down interesting bits of dialogue, snatch the moment when a person whose clothes or face or voice intrigues you. Hope this helps and since I'm here in Portland writing and editing away, please live large for both of us.
Best, Jessica