I mentioned before that I wanted to write travel journals during my journeys, but always failed. When I decided to write about one of those journeys years later, I had plenty of design choices to make, one of which was how I would lay out the text.
My main options in text-layout were:
- Long typed narrative
- Blocks of typed text (which do not connect narratively)
- Captions only
- Handwritten narrative
- Handwritten journal
Let me explain why I didn’t choose 1, 2, 3, or 4.
Long typed narrative
This is how most books are written. The only breaks come where a new chapter or section begins.
Pros: If you know your typography and book design rules, these can be easy on the eyes and easy to read (assuming the prose is enjoyable, of course). People are comfortable reading this format, and it usually makes the best use of paper space. More efficient use of paper = less paper used = saving the trees of the world = saving money.
Cons: Boring! It doesn’t work well with photos — publishers always put them on a dozen or so glossy pages in the middle of the book, completely out of place (and always the first page I turn to). The photo issue was a deal breaker. Denied.
Blocks of typed text
Think of these as “memos” from the trip. Not as long and detailed as diary or journal entries, but not as concise as photo captions. Also differentiating them from captions, they do not have to directly relate to the photos.
Pros: Instead of dedicating the writing and reading to long descriptions of events one after the other, this works well for myself — I just don’t know what to write half the time — and for the reader — since you probably don’t want to read my rambling run-ons page after page. Also, this works much better than option number 1 in terms of photo placement options. Blocks of text and photos are both (usually) rectangles, so they can be placed on a grid, or perhaps haphazardly, like a collage.
Cons: Someone wishing to actually follow my journey may have a difficult time tracing the route using blocks of text that might not be placed in a logical order. The same problem as before could present itself because there is not any connection between each block of text. If there were, it might be hard to follow.
Captions only
The book would be a photo book. Captions would be the only text outside of the supplementary sections, such as the preface and epilogue.
Pros: Photos everywhere. One of my personal goals was to showcase the photos to provide a visual narrative where possible, and while most of the photos are obviously amateur, they impart a personal feel to the trip and the book. My personal feelings aside, sometimes pictures tell a better story than words.
Cons: Sometimes pictures don’t tell a better story than words. Like I said, this is not “portfolio-quality” photography. National Geographic would want nothing to do with this. Also, there are some portions of the trip with a surfeit of photos, while some events have a dearth of visual representation.
Handwritten narrative
Think of a handwritten version of the long typed narrative entry on book-size paper. Chapters, sections, parts, all the same, but handwritten for a personal touch.
Pros: Shares many pros with the long typed narrative. Gives a sincere, personal touch to what is a very personal experience. Feels like you are reading a diary entry, getting a glimpse into the writer’s life that few would be privileged with.
Cons: Handwriting is in the vast majority of cases harder to read than even badly designed type. And for a book which could easily reach novel-length before it ends, this could prove difficult and ultimately frustrating.
Handwritten journal
Something of a cross between the handwritten narrative and the blocks of text, it is comprised of handwritten journal pages which are significantly smaller than traditional book-size diaries and journals.
Pros: It provides the personal touch of the handwritten narrative with the adaptability of the blocks of text, and without the tendency to ramble on if given the opportunity with plenty of room on each page of the narrative versions and fewer pictures to get in the way.
Cons: Again, handwriting — mine particularly — is difficult to decipher. I not only have subpar legibility, but I tend to use some phrases that probably make no sense to many readers, which compounds the issue.
In the end, I decided to go with the fifth option of a handwritten journal. This is absolutely a very personal subject, and I wanted people to get that feeling when reading it. And I also feel that showcasing photos is important for this project. So a traditional book-style narrative wouldn’t work well in my opinion.
Another benefit to the handwritten journal is that it gives me, the writer, the feeling of writing a journal. I am not afraid to acknowledge the fourth wall, so I don’t have to try and fool the reader into thinking this is a bona fide travel journal, but the format certainly helps give me a feeling of travel journaling while writing about my experiences.
Although the length of the text may well reach tens of thousands of words, I believe that the small pages will help convey a sense of ease to the readers. I imagine that people who commonly finish a page before putting the book down for later reading will have an easy time finishing up one of the miniature journal pages before putting the book down. On a similar note, I imagine that the personal nature of the small journal pages will make the reader more at ease with the book, feeling free to jump around to different pages, not afraid that they’ll lose their place.
Essentially, I think that the handwritten journal offers a great compromise of personalism, great photo compatibility, and narrative flow without the pressure to read chronologically, at the expense of some readability.
I hope you will agree.