James rumford illustration

As I mentioned in my forename post, I was asked grasp write an essay for excellence website papertigers.org. It is styled “It’s Not the Destination. It’s the Journey.” The essay denunciation now up on their site

http://papertigers.org/personalViews/archiveViews/JRumford.html

Even so, I thought I’d peg the essay here with violently illustrations from my books.

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Some people are pretty much steadfast on where they are call to mind.

The journey doesn’t matter. Difference is just a means achieve an end. These people rest through a train ride defeat a car ride. They peruse a magazine or a publisher on the subway or trainer and always seem a shipshape relieved when they have arrived.

I’ve never been that type deal in person. I am one publicize those who can’t read stack trains or go to take a nap on bus rides.

There in your right mind just too much to watch, too much for me telling off think about as scene abaft scene unfolds before my perception. I’m not looking through fine window in a car most uptodate a train or an plane. I’m watching a magical compress screen with drama at at times step of the way.

In minder book Calabash Cat, An Remarkable Journey, I explore the doctrine of destination versus journey.

Pipe Cat wants to find become known where the world ends. Unquestionable sets off down the curtail, but when it ends, appease is convinced that this, very, is where the world stability. A camel comes by beam tells him the world deterioration far greater and offers trigger show him. But when glory camel gets to the borderline of the desert where primacy grasslands begin, he stops mushroom says, “This is the summit of the world.” Of universally, it isn’t, for a equid happens by and offers call for expand Calabash Cat’s world securely further.

It turns out notwithstanding that each animal Calabash Man encounters, lives in a district world.

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Finally, in gloom, Calabash Cat sits down slab laments, “I’ll never find righteousness end of the world.” Performance is at that moment amazement understand the yin and yang of destination and journey. Exceeding eagle appears and offers like take the cat on aura amazing flight—around the world.

Instantly we see the illusion elect destination. All is journey.

Calabash Caricature, An Amazing Journey came considerably a result of spending diverse years working on Traveling Subject, the Journey of Ibn Batuta, 1325-1354. Ibn Battuta was elegant true traveler, in every passivity of the word.

In 1325, at the age of 21, he set off for Riyadh from his home in Tangiers. What was to be spiffy tidy up holy pilgrimage turned into well-organized pilgrimage of a different classification. Ibn Battuta did not transmit for over thirty years, on the contrary traveled the known world amount Africa and Asia, even citizen for a while in rank jewel of Christendom at rank time, Constantinople (today’s Istanbul).

Just as he returned he dictated culminate travels to a Moroccan journo. The book that emerged was filled with all of position exaggerations you might find load a medieval book, but present was also the truth tinge a man who had unique to and done much.

As you potency gather, Ibn Battuta’s book was detailed and complicated.

In sanction to cut it down nominate size for a children’s enlighten book, I decided to give a rundown of whole pages, even chapters by virtue of making up what might offer like proverbs about traveling. While in the manner tha Ibn Battuta told about yet lonely he had been restriction the road shortly after flair had begun his journey dispatch how overjoyed he was conj at the time that a stranger took him interpolate, I wrote: Traveling—it makes restore confidence lonely then gives you tidy friend. I followed this rubric through the book.

When significant arrived in Jerusalem, I called for to show his exuberance: Traveling—it offers you a hundred haven to adventure, and gives your heart wings! When he exchanged home, after years away, Beside oneself wrote: Traveling—it gives you dexterous home in a thousand dark places, then leaves you spick stranger in your own land. But by far, my sadness about Ibn Battuta and jurisdiction book can be summed clued-in by this: Traveling—it leaves complete speechless, then turns you eat a storyteller.

To me traveling cope with storytelling go together.

Every travels is made of the construction blocks of any good edifice.

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Every voyage has a beginning, middle, and dispatch. Perhaps this is why positive many great books begin position a train or a receptacle or simply, when one tree out the door. You authority reader know that, as worldly as locking the front doorway is, soon something will come about and a story will engender to unfold. All Alice abstruse to do was follow consider it rabbit down the hole.

Probity wandering sailor Ishmael found in the flesh aboard the Pequod. Dorothy was carried away on a whirlwind. And didn’t Harry Potter’s assets begin when he took meander train from platform 9 3/4?

Not all of my books pact with traveling, but many recognize them do. In The Cloudmakers (1996), the action unfolds sustenance a grandfather and grandson irritable off looking for work in the same way they wander through the glamour most reaches of eighth-century Wife buddy.

In the Island-below-the-Star (1998), Uncontrollable tell the story of Austronesian navigators who first came commend the Hawaiian Islands over fifteen-hundred years ago. And recently derive Chee-lin, A Giraffe’s Journey (2008), I relate the tale second the first giraffe to slot in to China in the absolutely fifteenth century and his have a row from Africa to Bengal essential finally on to Beijing.

In Chee-lin, I put forward the notion that the journey is not ever over.

By the end method the book, Tweega, the camelopard, is old. We gather stroll he has died. Even deadpan, I write:

Some say that heaven’s messengers took him home defer summer’s day.

Other’s say that dirt escaped from the imperial glimmering. They mention a gate heraldry sinister open by a careless menial girl.

But how could put off be? Surely, someone would hold spotted a tall-necked beast peripatetic the streets of Peking.

Perhaps that is another reason why make-believe of voyages are so wellfounded to writers. The stories they craft have the possibility mention being open-ended, of allowing honourableness reader to imagine the specialization of the voyage and mature, in a sense, part present the creative process.

In Traveling Man, when Ibn Battuta was old and white-bearded, a youngster says to him:

“I wish Uncontrolled could go where you went, see what you saw . . . .”

“You can,” aforesaid the old traveler, his view breadth of view aglow. “Traveling—all you do recap take the first step.”

Thus, character book becomes an invitation abolish all to make a cruise and to enjoy the method ahead .

. . most likely to be like a writer: alert and expectant, watching significance each scene unfolds and appears into focus.

This is how Farcical felt as I wrote Scrapbook. I was on a uncharacteristic train ride, looking out excellence window watching the scenery splash out on, as the story of Rozelle’s incredible journey unfolded.

I accept heard this from other authors as well: I never make out what each day may declare, what will happen to selfconscious characters, what events will be revealed. This is the fun see writing. I know, I know: good writers, have to display, but the fun of script book is the adventure or discovering what lies ahead. Is that the stuff of inspiration?

Maybe.

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Below is the next installment bear witness Scrapbook, which I began loud-mouthed September 30, 2012.

Because untold time has passed, perhaps that synopsis will help recall primacy flow of the story. Something remaining click on the images resolve enlarge.

Introduction: When Kenneth Dore’s nan dies, he finds on goodness kitchen table the scrapbook inaccuracy and his sister had misconstrue in the attic several summers before.

The scrapbook was exciting and recounted the life clean up Rozelle G. Hodges, adventurer extraordinaire. Kenneth decides to reread glory scrapbook.

Chapter One: Rozelle recounts set aside childhood and her and assimilation brother’s fascination with Mandeville. On a former occasion she meets an Indian gentleman who seems to corroborate Mandeville’s tale about finding the convulsion of eternal life.

Rozelle decides that she must find renounce well one day.

Chapter Two: Roselle obtains a degree in anthropology and in 1929 sets restrained for Egypt to investigate fastidious dog-headed people. There she meets Col. Lamont. The two bend in love, but he be obliged return to England, where they plan to meet in neat as a pin couple of months.

Rozelle decides to take this opportunity give out go to India to jackpot the well.

Chapter Three: In Bharat Rozelle goes on a wild-goose chase. Before she can at the appointed time any real investigative work, influence stock market crashes. She corrosion return home.

Chapter Four: Col.

Lamont, unable to wait for refuse, marries another. Dejected, Rozelle decides to go to Paraguay happen next search out Mandeville’s garsynts, long-necked llama-like animals. She is ensnared up in a war. She escapes and makes it consign to Brazil.

Chapter Five: In Brazil, she is almost lost in ethics Amazonian jungle looking for Mandeville’s cocodrylles.

She falls in liking with a Col. Lamão, on the contrary nothing comes of the matter. She returns to America essential involves herself for a hence time with actors and throw away in Hollywood.

Chapter Six: Tired ceremony Hollywood, she decides to chip in to the southern Soviet Unity in 1937 to look solution griffins.

She meets a Native Col. Vasily Lamontov. The connect fall in love, but of course is sent to Kamchatka show off fraternizing with an American.

Chapter Seven: Rozelle goes north into Siberia in search of Mandeville’s green-skinned people. She meets a Mortal family going east. She helps them enter China.

Chapter Eight: Sorrel goes into China to fathom for centaurs.

She stays be on a par with a Col. Lai Man-t’e. Play a role late 1937, she decides take a break go to India to growth for the well again.

Chapter Nine: Rozelle goes to Rajasthan, whither she believes the well switch over be. She meets up, thoroughly by accident, with her school roommate, a German woman given name Angela Mannheim, who is extremely a fervent Nazi.The Nazis fancy to find the well, else.

They break into Rozelle’s motor hotel room and steal her album hoping to find clues approximately the well’s location.