The structure of a piece is often defined by the genre. In an academic essay, we expect a thesis towards the beginning, followed by evidence that supports that thesis. In a scientific research paper, there is an introduction, methods, results and discussion. Most fiction is made up of these structures and units too. For example, stories often follow a description, dialogue, action, description, dialogue, action structure. In a travel writing narrative, you might not have much (or any) dialogue although you will note in the samples that the writers have tried to integrate dialogue moments.
What propels the story is more specifically called plot. Elizabeth Irvin Ross in Write Now! describes the most common plot as following the 4Cs: Conflict, Complication, Climax and Conclusion.
In Bird’s tale about trying to find Estes Park, the conflict is that she doesn’t know how to get there. She has to rely on a particular local (Mr. Chalmers) who she doesn’t trust to find the way, leading to the journey itself, a series of one complication after another until she leads the next day’s entry with the story’s Climax: “We never reached Estes Park.” The Conclusion is the meandering denouement of them returning to Longmount. The important thing is not just this bit, but recognizing that the whole of Bird’s travelogue is made up of 4Cs units. There are multiple Conflict, Complication, Climax and Conclusion moments clicked together like Legos. Most stories follow suit.
Modern motion pictures have added some interstitial moments into Ross’s 4Cs, but they still follow this pattern. If you want to be a world famous screenwriter, just pick up a copy of Save The Cat by Blake Snyder, and you will be good to go. In the book, Snyder not only describes the plot structure but the number of pages in the script one should devote to each part:
- Opening Image (1)
- Theme Stated (5)
- Set-up (1-10)
- Catalyst (12)
- Debate (12-25)
- Break into Two (25)
- B Story (30)
- Fun and Games (30-55)
- Midpoint (55)
- Bad Guys Close In (55-75)
- All Is Lost (75)
- Dark Night of the Soul (75-85)
- Break into Three (85)
- Finale (85-110)
- Final Image
At the Save the Cat website, many blockbuster movies are shown to follow this exact structure (e.g., here’s the one for the original Avengers movie).
I mention in the introduction to this section that finding a conflict doesn’t have to be big. As I pointed out in the Bird story, her conflict is that she wants to get to Estes Park. If she knew how to get there and had the means to do so, she would be there. In your own travelogues (and later, in your Personal Story), Conflicts probably abound. You want to go to Lair of the Bear, but you don’t own a car. You might not think that’s an interesting part of the story, but think of the angle—maybe you are writing to other DU students who also want to hike Lair of the Bear. Maybe you are looking for an authentic meal in Venice, Italy, but everywhere you go, the menus are in English. Does that make those places automatically inauthentic? How are you to know? Or maybe you are in a restaurant in Uganda, and you aren’t given silverware. The previous restaurant you went to provided forks. Did the server forget? Is this the custom for this particular cuisine? Conflicts abound, small and large.
If you want to just write an itinerary, there is an assignment for that (Module 7, Informative). You’ll get your chance. For now, I want you to plot your travelogue like a good story. Yes, it should be nonfiction; don’t make something up. But write your Descriptions, Dialogues, and Actions, and arrange them in an order the sets up a Conflict, Complication, Climax, and Conclusion.