Writer and novelist Paul Theroux revealed that he uses only his left hand to write on travel. He said that to come up with a good travelogue one must have excellent travelling skills
It may sound bizarre but travel writer and novelist Paul Theroux revealed that he uses different hands to write in different genres. “I write with my left hand when I am writing a travel book but I use my right hand while writing fiction. When I am writing fiction I will begin with something, I will write and rewrite and keep on wondering unless I reach a conclusion. Whereas a travel book is all about trying those things and then penning them down. So I need my right hand free,” he said.
The American author, who is best known for his travel writing in books such as The Great Railway Bazaar, said, “Good travel writing doesn’t require good writing skills but it definitely requires excellent travelling skills. When you are writing a travel book, you have certain notes, you sit with a cup of coffee and jot them down to be converted into a book with fancy, glossy cover. There is much more to travel writing which is defined by the way you travel. It is not just the ability to take trips but take risks, too, for discovering the most inaccessible and infamous places and admiring minute details of its beauty and importance,” he added.
The 73-year-old author, whose pieces of fiction have also been adapted in movies, said, “The way people travelled and perceived travelling changed around the 1970s when airfares went down and so did the world of travel writing. As years progressed there was too much information available and the area became more challenging but satisfying,” he said.
Theroux said that novel writing is more complex and difficult than writing travel experiences. “You go out, meet new people, get experience and narrate it to your readers. However, a novel which gets a logical beginning concludes at a decent plot. So you have to keep thinking where it is going dull and where it has to conclude. There are whims and fancies of novel writing, too, but they are meant for a particular section of readers. Travel books are accessible for all and hence open to revisions and discoveries,” he said.
(inputs PTI)