How to Transform a Travel Adventure into a compelling story

By Candace Macphie

In the 90’s I did a one-year backpacking trip around the world. As a woman traveling mostly solo, I had some crazy times. Cool right? Ugh, but so did thousands of other people. How do I transform my stack of journals and photos into a standout read?

Here’s how I morphed my penned thoughts into a five-part Back in a Year series. Book one: Finding Color and book two: Life Strikes Back are available and book three: Hello, I am Here will be published in March 2025.

Sure, we’ve all taken awesome trips or done something we find interesting. What separates your tale from a holiday recount over drinks into a compelling book?

Start by defining the goal of what you want to share. You owe it to your readers to have a story arc with a clear beginning, middle, and end that they can follow and cheer along with. Once you land your why the book is easier to structure and write because you have a purpose to follow and one you as a writer are accountable to deliver.

Not every detail needs to be included. I woke up, what I ate every day, when I went to sleep – boring. And I want to sleep too just thinking about all those extra details and draggy words that slow down a reader's experience.

Use your story arc – why – to guide what needs to be included. This anchor helps you as a writer to determine what details are important and what needs to be omitted. It sounds simple enough. But sometimes it's hard to let go of content. This is where you have to be strong. Be a stickler and think about your reader - if it doesn’t add or move the story along, it doesn’t belong.

Enough details need to be included for the reader to immerse themselves in the location, but not everything.

I quickly dump readers in the scene but I’m meticulously economical with my location words. I include additional details about the place as the scene progresses. But my focus is always on the story and characters, with just enough on the place.

Bring me in. All the way in. I’m here for your story, but I need to feel it.

In any book, characters must develop and grow. And the reader needs to experience all the emotions of that journey. Everyone has a voyeur side and will be entertained by a real, relatable experience. Key word here is real. As a memoir writer, I believe it’s your job to be the most real. By not taking the easy route and glossing over or not including the messy parts that are embarrassing or show you in a negative light. No one is perfect. You have to put it all out there. It’s imperative to include good, bad, funny, and sad moments and all the emotions that accompany them.

It’s taken me longer to write about the trip than to take the trip.

I was on the road for over a year. And it has taken me five years to understand my why, structure the story, and learn the craft of writing. The hours and hours I’ve spent getting one paragraph perfect are humbling. But worth it. Because I know when you pick up one of my books you are sucked into the ‘90s, wearing a backpack, sweating, crying, laughing, and feeling all the feels on this epic trip.

This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But also, the most rewarding. If you have a book in you, it’s your job to share it with the world. Give it a go, I promise you someone out there is waiting for your words.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, I spent years backpacking and working around the world. I have a Bachelor of Commerce degree, an MBA, and worked for twenty years on four different continents and now call Calgary, Alberta home.

I got married, had kids, and things got busy. Time was moving by quickly and my kids were growing up fast. I shifted gears and quit my job to spend time at home. During the COVID lockdown, I had time on my hands, decided to try writing, and started writing the Back in a Year series.

When I’m not at my computer yelling “Just a few more pages, then I’ll make dinner,” I love hiking in the Rocky Mountains, swimming, reading romance novels, and making up new cake recipes. I especially like to laugh and spend time with my husband, the self-proclaimed grumpy motherf*%ker, and my three awesome kids.

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