Writing prompt: Become your own sidekick

[Feature image: 隙頂的天空]

As you develop your voice, style, and figure out what type of travel writing is most interesting to you, you should also consider how you construct yourself as a character in your writing. In some types of travel writing, the narrator is the main character and the way you present that character to your readers will have a great effect on whether or not they will care about the place or experience you are describing.

This doesn’t mean you have to be “sympathetic” at all times. It just means you have to be realistic.

For this writing prompt, imagine that you are your own sidekick. Think about the way you dress, walk, speak to the barista at your local coffee shop. Are you more likely to sit or stand on the subway? What do your arms do when you are waiting in line? Take good notes and then create a scene where you write about yourself in the third person, taking into consideration all of the things you noticed.

This is what I noticed about myself this week when I went to see the Today Show being filmed.

She wore electric blue jeans, a white t-shirt with a palm tree print, soft gray blazer, and sandals. She said her dark hair was, “crazy” that morning but it was just curly, cut above the shoulder. She carried a poster that read, “Hi Mom & Dad!” but every time the cameras panned the crowd she forgot to hold it up and instead smiled and waved calmly. She didn’t go wild or scream like the women in front of us. Their sign read, “4 friends for over 40 years” and they really wanted to be on television. She didn’t talk to them, or anyone else in the crowd. She crossed her arms and tucked the sign between her legs and stood on tiptoes to try to get a glimpse of Matt Lauer through the big glass windows.

If you try out this writing prompt, leave a comment below with your work or a link to where you have shared it.