http://www.writers-online.co.uk^57MASTERCLASS
MARCH 2020nines and laden with presents. They
could be going to a school or college
reunion. How are they dressed? Have
they gone all out to dress to kill, or
are they trying to look as though they
didn’t have to try too hard? Are they
clutching directions to an unknown
venue, or is the reunion at the school
they attended and the journey so
familiar they could do it in their sleep?
Maybe they are racking their brains
to remember what all their classmates
looked like, or trying to recall all their
fellow students’ names.
Or your character could be going on
holiday. Their case might be stuffed
full of beachwear, sun lotion and
holiday reading. Perhaps as they travel
they glance through a tourist guide to
their destination.
Alternatively, your character could
be upping sticks for good. If they are
moving home then they might be
surrounded by as many possessions
as they can manage while all the rest
of their worldly goods follow in a
removal van. How does this make
them feel?
Sad visits can also make the basis
of an interesting journey for your
character. Perhaps, like Doree, they
are visiting a family member or friend
in a prison or secure institution. That
opens up all sorts of possibilities. What
was the person convicted of? Were they
innocent or guilty? How does your
character feel about them now? Maybe
it is your character who has fallen foul
of the law. Imagine their journey to
court, full of trepidation about what
might happen next.
They could be visiting someone in
hospital. Maybe that person is seriously
ill or even dying. What pressure
might this put on your character?
Might they be looking for some kind
of distraction? Perhaps the worst has
happened and they are on their way to
a funeral. They could be wearing black
and clutching a tissue in their hand to
stave off tears. Or they could be secretly
glad the person has died.
Neither happy nor sad, some
journeys are bittersweet. Like
travelling to the office on the last day
before you retire, or driving to the
airport to drop a loved one off on
their travels. Some are both nerve-
jangling and exciting, like going to a
job interview. These situations give
the writer an opportunity to makegossiping and concludes that they are
gossiping about him.
When the crisis point comes in
Doree’s relationship with Lloyd she
finds herself walking to Maggie’s house
for help. Alice Munro portrays this
journey in just a couple of sentences,
but the reader can well imagine Doree
walking along the road ducking into
the ditch every time a car passes in case
it is him chasing her.
It is at this point in the story that we
find out the appalling truth of what has
happened to Doree’s children. Lloyd
has killed them in revenge for her
walking out on him, and the institution
she was travelling to at the beginning
of the story is a secure institution where
he is being held on account of being
criminally insane.
Doree, we learn, had hesitated
when the bus had got to the end of its
journey. She could have got off the bus
and turned round and gone home, like
others before her, she suspects. But she
didn’t. She went and saw her husband.
Despite disapproval from Mrs
Sands, Doree continues to visit Lloyd
in the hope of getting some kind of
answers from him. Eventually, he
gives her an answer of sorts. He says
the children are living in another
dimension and this is enough to make
her want to carry on visiting him.
The end of the story brings us full
circle with Doree on a bus again.
But this time she does not reach
her destination. Her journey is
unexpectedly curtailed when the bus
just avoids hitting an out of control
car and she finds herself fighting to
save the life of the car driver. Finally,
there is a real sense of closure for
her. She no longer needs to reach her
original destination because she has
found a different path to redemption.
On my travels
Let’s look at how we can use the idea
of travel and journeys in our own
writing. Why might you be taking
your character on a journey? Where
are they going, and how are they going
to get there?
Some journeys are for sad reasons,
some are for happy reasons, and some
are somewhere in between. If you want
to take your character on a happy
journey there are lots of possibilities.
They could be going to a wedding
or a christening, dressed up to the
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the most of exploring a character’s
conflicting emotions.
There are many different ways your
character might be travelling. Like
Doree, they could be on a bus, or
maybe a coach or train. Ask yourself
some questions about the experience.
Who are they sitting next to? Maybe
they have an interesting companion
that they are happy to chat to.
Or maybe they are sitting next to
someone with halitosis and no sense
of personal space. Is this making them
feel uncomfortable? Did the timetable
offer them a convenient journey that
fitted well with their plans, or have
they had to stand around waiting
for connections or leave home much
earlier than they would have chosen to?
If your character is in a car, think
about who might be with them. Is
everyone chatting or is the silence only
broken by the sat-nav? Is the car clean
and tidy or has someone been using
the footwells as a bin? Is the car swish
and new with that satisfying new-car
smell? Or is it an old rustbucket that
may not make it to the destination.
Perhaps their journey is more
glamorous. They might be jetting
off somewhere exotic by aeroplane,
or cruising around the Adriatic. Let
your character look around at their
fellow passengers and take in their
quirks and peculiarities. Help the
reader to imagine all the new and
unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells
they are experiencing.
Alternatively, your character
could be walking, cycling, skate-
boarding, ski-ing... there are so
many possibilities.
Like Doree, your character may
be undergoing a mental, spiritual
or emotional journey as well as a
physical one. So think about how
you can weave that in to create
the most satisfying story for your
reader. As your character travels,
let the reader find out more about
them, as they find out more about
themselves.