Deviate An audiobook about how (not) to write a travel book: 9 lessons from my failed van-life memoir
Sep 2, 2025
Luke Van Tassel, nephew of travel writer Rolf Potts, shares insights drawn from his uncle's unfinished van-life memoir. Discover nine valuable lessons on the art of travel writing, such as "show, don’t tell" and the importance of authenticity in depicting characters and experiences. Luke also reflects humorously on the challenges of capturing reality versus myth in narratives. The conversation emphasizes that the true reward of travel lies in the journey itself, not just the written word.
01:11:41
Failure Seeds Future Work
- Failure to finish a first book can teach core lessons that enable later success.
- Rolf's abandoned manuscript seeded ideas that became his published work Vagabonding.
Show Private Moments, Not Labels
- Show scenes rather than declare feelings to make a narrator believable.
- Use concrete actions and details to evoke emotion instead of telling the reader you felt something.
Report Deeper Than Memory
- Do reporting, not only recollection, when writing travel books.
- Seek sources and people who illuminate your journey's themes rather than casual acquaintances.
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Intro
00:00 • 4min
Reflections on Travel Narratives
03:46 • 6min
Reflections on Travel Writing
09:53 • 25min
A Surreal Reflection on Dreams and Reality
34:30 • 2min
Truth and Myth in Punk Rock Narratives
36:50 • 7min
Spring Break Reflections
43:43 • 7min
The Humor and Heartbreak of Travel
50:42 • 21min
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Marco Polo didn't go there
Rolf Potts
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True history
Lucian of Samosata
#
Labels
A Mediterranean Journal
Evelyn Waugh
#32833
The travels of Sir John Mandeville
John Mandeville
The "Travels of Sir John Mandeville" is a 14th-century travelogue that recounts fantastical journeys to the East.
While often considered fictional, it reflects the European imagination of the time and the exotic lands beyond their known world.
The book describes fantastical creatures, strange customs, and wondrous sights, blending elements of reality and fiction.
It was incredibly popular during its time and influenced subsequent travel literature.
Its enduring appeal lies in its imaginative storytelling and its reflection of the medieval worldview.
#674
• Mentioned in 32 episodes
Dom Quixote
Xavier, Alberto
Don Quixote, written by Miguel de Cervantes, tells the story of Alonso Quixano, a middle-aged gentleman who, influenced by his extensive reading of chivalric romances, decides to become a knight-errant.
He renames himself Don Quixote and, with his squire Sancho Panza, embarks on a series of adventures.
These adventures often involve Don Quixote's misinterpretation of reality, such as mistaking windmills for giants and inns for castles.
The novel explores themes of reality vs.
imagination, the decline of chivalry, and the human condition.
Eventually, Don Quixote returns home, regains his sanity, and renounces his chivalric ambitions before his death.
#2063
• Mentioned in 14 episodes
On the Road
Jack Kerouac
Written in a style of spontaneous prose, 'On the Road' is a semi-autobiographical novel that follows the travels of Sal Paradise and his friend Dean Moriarty across America.
The book captures the spirit of the post-war Beat Generation, embracing a lifestyle of freedom, jazz, and rebellion against societal norms.
It has become a defining work of American counterculture.
#58794
Three cups of tea
one man's mission to promote peace … one school at a time
Greg Mortenson
Natxo Morera de la Vall Antón
Sarah Thomson
David Oliver Relin
Three Cups of Tea chronicles Greg Mortenson's transformation from a mountaineer to a humanitarian after a failed attempt to climb K2.
He builds schools in remote villages, overcoming numerous challenges to fulfill his promise and bring education to children in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The book highlights the importance of education in promoting peace and understanding.
#490
• Mentioned in 40 episodes
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Andrew George
Anonymous
The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, who is two-thirds god and one-third human.
The gods create Enkidu, a wild man, to counterbalance Gilgamesh's oppressive rule.
Enkidu and Gilgamesh become friends after a trial of strength and embark on several adventures, including the slaying of the monster Humbaba and the killing of the Bull of Heaven.
Following Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh sets out on a perilous journey to find Utnapishtim, the survivor of the Babylonian Flood, in search of the secret of eternal life.
Despite his efforts, Gilgamesh learns that death is inevitable and returns to Uruk, reconciled to his mortality and appreciative of the enduring achievements of humanity.
#15274
• Mentioned in 2 episodes
The anxiety of influence
a theory of poetry
Harold Bloom
In 'The Anxiety of Influence', Harold Bloom presents a theory of poetry that explores how poets are influenced by their precursors and how they strive to create original work despite this influence.
Bloom argues that poets must engage in a process of 'poetic misprision', or creative misreading, to carve out their own space in the literary canon.
The book is divided into six revisionary ratios, drawing on Freudian psychoanalysis and classical rhetoric.
#1519
• Mentioned in 18 episodes
Vagabonding
An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
Rolf Potts
In 'Vagabonding', Rolf Potts provides a comprehensive handbook for long-term world travel.
The book is not just about travel but an outlook on life, encouraging readers to use the prosperity and possibilities of the information age to increase personal options rather than possessions.
It covers practical advice on financing travel, determining destinations, adjusting to life on the road, handling travel adversity, and re-assimilating back into ordinary life.
Potts emphasizes the importance of an independent spirit, simplicity, and a friendly interest in people, places, and things, making the reader an explorer in the truest sense of the word.
#306
• Mentioned in 56 episodes
The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
The Catcher in the Rye follows Holden Caulfield, a teenager who has been expelled from Pencey Prep, as he spends three days wandering around New York City.
The novel explores Holden's disillusionment with the world around him, his feelings of loneliness and disconnection, and his struggle to find genuine relationships.
Despite his cynicism and criticism of others as 'phonies,' Holden reveals a deep emotional sensitivity, particularly in his interactions with his younger sister Phoebe.
The book delves into themes of adolescent angst, the loss of innocence, and the search for meaning and purpose in a seemingly superficial world.
“No endeavor to write a travel book is ever lost, since it gives you a useful perspective on (and intensified attention to) the reality of the travel experience itself. When embraced mindfully, the real-time experience of a journey is invariably its truest reward.” –Rolf Potts
In this episode of Deviate, Rolf touches on nine lessons from attempting to write a (never finished) van-life vagabonding memoir at age 23, including:
On Pilgrims in a Sliding World (1:00)
Lesson #1: No work is lost (and “failure” has lessons to teach)
On the author as a character (6:30)
Lesson #2: “Show, don’t tell” is still good narrative advice
On depicting other people (14:30)
Lesson #3: Travel books require reporting (not just recollecting)
On recounting dialogues (22:30)
Lesson #4: Be true to what was said (but make sure it serves a broader purpose)
On veering from the truth (32:30)
Lesson #5: The truth tends to work better than whatever you might make up
On depicting places (39:30)
Lesson #6: “Telling details” are better than broad generalizations about a place
On neurotic young-manhood (48:30)
Lesson #7: Balance narrative analysis with narrative vulnerability
The seeds of Vagabonding (1:01:30)
Lesson #8: Over time, we write our way into what we have to say
The journey was the point (1:06:30)
Lesson #9: In the end, taking the journey counts for more than writing it
Books mentioned:
- The Geto Boys, by Rolf Potts (2016 book)
- Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts (2003 book)
- The Anxiety of Influence, by Harold Bloom (1973 book)
- On the Road, by Jack Kerouac (1957 book)
- The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (1951 book)
- Epic of Gilgamesh (12th century BCE Mesopotamian epic)
- Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes (17th century novel)
- The Travels of Sir John Mandeville (14th century travelogue)
- True History, by Lucian of Samosata (2nd century novella)
- Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson (21st century memoir)
- Marco Polo Didn't Go There, by Rolf Potts (2008 book)
- Labels: A Mediterranean Journal, by Evelyn Waugh (1930 book)
Essays, poems, and short stories mentioned
- "The Mystical High Church of Luck," by Rolf Potts (1998 essay)
- "Greenland is Not Bigger Than South America", by Rolf Potts (1998 essay)
- “The Faces,” by Robert Creeley (1983 poem)
- "Reflection and Retrospection," by Phillip Lopate (2005 essay)
- "Why so much travel writing is so boring," by Thomas Swick (2001 essay)
- "10 Rules of Writing," by Elmore Leonard (2001 essay)
- "In the Penal Colony," by Franz Kafka (1919 short story)
Places and events mentioned
- People's Park (activist park in Berkeley)
- 924 Gilman Street (punk-rock club in Berkeley)
- Alphabet City (neighborhood New York City's East Village)
- Brentwood (Los Angeles neighborhood)
- 1994 Northridge earthquake
- Panama City Beach (Florida spring-break city)
- Gainesville (Florida college town)
- Athens (Georgia college town)
- Big Sur (coastal region of California)
- Humboldt Redwoods State Park (park in California)
Other links:
- "Van Life before #VanLife" (Deviate episode)
- Paris Writing Workshops (Rolf's annual creative writing classes)
- Picaresque (prose genre)
- Roman à clef (fictionalized novel about real-life events)
- "Jumping freight trains in the Pacific NW" (Deviate episode)
- "Telling travel stories, with Andrew McCarthy" (Deviate episode)
- "Rolf Potts: The Vagabond's Way" (Ari Shaffir's Skeptic Tank podcast)
- "A personal history of my grunge-bandwagon band" (Deviate episode)
- Gettysburg Address (Abraham Lincoln speech)
- José Ortega y Gasset (Spanish philosopher)
- Jack Handey (American humorist known for "Deep Thoughts" jokes)
- Laurel Lee (American memoirist)
The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.
Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.