: Re: How to make travel scenes interesting without adding needless plot diversions? I have always had a problem with travel in my stories. Since I'm writing an epic fantasy novel, travel is a big

@Pierce369

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Here's an example of how this can be handled:

The journey took three, long, weary days, and when they finally
reached the city, the sun was about to disappear below the horizon.
Hoping they were in time, they hurried through the wide streets and
narrow alleys, until they reached a large building. A sign, hanging on
the wall, read:

THE BARLEY INN.

Mikael pushed the door open and stepped in, followed by James. As soon
as they had stepped in a warm flow of air engulfed them, and they
headed towards the Inkeeper. He was a tall, hairy man who towered over
them menacingly, his eyes darting to and fro as he cast dubious
glances across the empty inn. As the two men approached, he kept his
eyes on them hungrily.

"You need a room?"

Mikael spoke first. "Yes, please. We'll be sharing it together, so you
can keep it as the price for one."

The Inkeeper shook his head. "I'm sorry, sire, but we make our prices
depending on the number of people, not rooms. It will be twenty-five
for each person."

Mikael sighed, and produced the required money from his pouch.

"There," he said.

The Inkeeper pointed a bony finger to a set of steps in the corner of
the room. "The second door at the left. There's no keys, so you'll
have to do with that."

They walked up the staircase and emerged into a large corridor, with a
set of doors on each side. The door to their room was weakened by
years of carelessness, and it creaked when they pushed it open. The
room was plain, with two beds laid carefully on both sides. Apart from
the beds, the chamber was empty.

James' face fell.

"Well, at least the door will creak if someone tries to intrude at
night," Mikael said, seeing James' face.

James scowled. "There's no one in this Inn anyways."

Mikael chuckled, and dropped his bag on the floor. He sat down on the
bed, surprised at how tough it was.

"Don't complain," Mikael said cheerily, "we'll be leaving for Teans
soon. The dragons will make sure of that."

James managed a smile, but it fell quickly.

"The beds! They could be rocks!" he moaned, rocking crazily on one of
the mattresses.

"Stop acting like a child and sleep," Mikael ordered.

James scowled again. "We didn't even have supper."

The next day, James opened his eyes and was surprised to see Mikael
stuffing his clothes into his bag hurriedly.

"What are you doing?" James asked sleepily. "Do you realise that I've
worked hours just for unpacking this mess?"

Mikael turned to face him. "Get up. We've got no time. Grab all you
need annd we're leaving."

"What?"

"Just do it."

James sprang from his bed. He was feeling tired as he pulled on his
clothes and grabbed his sack.

"What now?"

Mikael pulled the door open and stepped out. James went after him,
feeling angry and tired after his forced awakening.

The Inkeeper was there, frowning at them.

"You're leaving?"

Mikael strode past him and stormed out of the door. The Inkeeper gazed
at James questioningly.

James shrugged. "Don't ask me," he said, and headed out of the door.

The second journey was longer than the first. They crossed the Areon
River with much efforts, only to find a new challenge awaiting them on
the other side. The Fortis Range towered over them like a huge,
fire-breathing dragon. James felt exhausted after several days of hard
climbing through the harsh weather. But he soon realised that the
climbing had been child's play. Now they had to make their way down
the snowy slope, against the north wind and the danger of prowling
wolves.

On the other side, the city of Teans lay surrounded by blood-thirsty
dragons.

Not friendly ones like Oneaon, but terrifying, seven clawed ones.
Even Mikael's genius seemed no match for the hungry dragons, and James
feared they would meet a roasted end. But he kept his thoughts to
himself, and followed Mikael across the snowy slope.

On the fourth day, Teans was in sight. A careful look around the snowy
peaks proved the rumors true: huge dragons could be seen shooting
across the sky in a frenzy of claws and fire. They circled the city,
and James felt fear prick through him.

There was still some way left down the slope that led to the city, and
they crossed it fairly quickly. Soon they stood under the walls of the
city. James kept casting glances around himself, hoping the city walls
would open and engulf him before the dragons did. Mikael was calm as
he called out to the inhabitants.

There was no answer.

Mikael shouted again. His voice rang out across the snowscape.

Suddenly, a heart-wrenching shriek achoed across the land. James
turned around just in time to see a huge dragon sweeping low to attack
him. He stared, too scared to move, at the dragon's jaws as they flew
open and sped towards him.

Hope it helped. My point is that you should write some things about the time spent in Inns, and when you're writing down the travel scene, then just make a rough account of it eg: the time it took, the atmosphere: in this essay, the characters have to reach Teans before it is destroyed by dragons. You should mention the objective at least once. If something vital to the storyline takes place, then you should write it down with as much description as possible.
I really hoped that helped. I know my essay was pretty rough and speedy, but the point here is about the traveling(though I did include a lot of scenes where the characters aren't moving).

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