Adventure/Fantasy-story writers, how do you keep travel sequences interesting?

[Lorelliad]

A question to prepare myself for future arcs. After >35 chapters, I'm about 90-something percent of the way through my first arc of my story, with almost all of it taking place in the beginning city and the area in, around, or under it.

Once the first arc's done, the main cast are set to leave the city proper and journey to another, where I plan on holding the second.

My question is this: for writers writing stories much like mine, how do you keep your traveling sequences interesting? Is it a matter of length? Proper exposition? Extended descriptions on any village your characters pass? Help

 

[Eldoria]

Follow the adventure premise of your story! Check out Majo no Tabi-Tabi and Frieren for references. Elaina travels from one city to another, following her mother's journey. Meanwhile, Frieren travels back to reminisce about adventures with her friends (most of whom are now deceased).

 

[GwynLordofTinder]

Follow the adventure premise of your story! Check out Majo no Tabi-Tabi and Frieren for references. Elaina travels from one city to another, following her mother's journey. Meanwhile, Frieren travels back to reminisce about adventures with her friends (most of whom are now deceased).

Depending on the tone of your story, this works great.

However, if it's heavily character driven, you can treat it like a bottle episode. Its a great chance to explore your characters relationships and psyche, either through comedic road trip shenanigans or concerted introspection.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Following my fav murder types

Murders along the way.

Light exercises in between murder missions.

 

[MFontana]

A question to prepare myself for future arcs. After >35 chapters, I'm about 90-something percent of the way through my first arc of my story, with almost all of it taking place in the beginning city and the area in, around, or under it.

Once the first arc's done, the main cast are set to leave the city proper and journey to another, where I plan on holding the second.

My question is this: for writers writing stories much like mine, how do you keep your traveling sequences interesting? Is it a matter of length? Proper exposition? Extended descriptions on any village your characters pass? Help

The "B-Plot" and the premise "Orks Attack"
Basically, stuff happens while the characters are travelling from point A to point B.
The world itself is a character (in a sense) and it responds to the things the characters do. (This is the basis of the premise of a "Living World", which I've gone into elsewhere).

But if you want to foreshadow some of it, maybe have the characters hear some rumors before they set out. You should also consider how far they are traveling, and the means by which they are traveling as well.

Erin M. Evans, and of course Tolkien, are exceptional authors to reference as well.

In my own series, I've used the travel-time between Point A (Saphria) and Point B (The Blackthorn Estate) to deliver, a fair amount of world-building, a decent amount of dialogue-driven LitRPG mechanics exposition, a flashback, character development, and a light conflict (battle encounter) to showcase several of those mechanics in-action, all on top of the existing plot-threads. [Ref: Duskfall Chapter 2]. All of which happened during (and immediately after) a flight that took (approximately) a couple of hours in-world time.

What matters, is the scope and purpose of the travel, and the events that happen during it. If it serves the narrative, then it belongs in the story. If it doesn't serve the narrative, then it doesn't belong in the story.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Unless you want everything to be in the service of a greater plot, look to episodic television shows like Rawhide or Star Trek or Wagon Train - shows that had most of the cast going from point A to point B either between episodes or during the course of an episode. See how it is done there - generally a page or two spent on the scenery, then "something happens" and a day or so passes, and then the characters are on the trail again.
A good literary reference would be the first two books in Wheel of Time - before the illness that took his life, and his ambition to tell not just A story but THE story, began conflicting and making Robert Jordan's work a bit chaotic and messy. He did some very good travel scenes (some captured well in the Amazon series, some not so much). C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia also provide a good template to follow, as do the significantly shorter Chronicles of Prydian by Lloyd Alexander (The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, The High King)

 

[Zagaroth]

During travel, you want to write about:

A) highlights of the travel itself (interesting views, interactions with border guards for characters new to this sort of travel, etc)

B) interesting social interactions between the characters. Do you have the start of a burgeoning romance? Maybe spend a chapter or two ratcheting up the tension. Or if there is a short backstory you want to tell, have character 1 ask character 2 more about something that has been referenced before, and use a section break have the chapter shift view points so that you are writing the chapter about that event. By the end of the chapter, you want use another section break and bring the reader back to the current timeline.

Depending on the travel, there can be a lot of dead time in between. You can skip that entirely. "Two weeks later:" at the top of a chapter, or what ever is appropriate.

 

[melcomely]

Generally speaking, you have to think of what the traveling will do to the story. If it's just a connection between two locations, then you can probably skip it altogether, but otherwise it's a great opportunity to show how it wears down your travelers, brings them together, etc. The passage of time can have great impact if you show its effects rather than just writing "A week later...", or something.

 

[onehunter]

There is always the option to make your MC fast af.

 

[DarkCosmos]

A question to prepare myself for future arcs. After >35 chapters, I'm about 90-something percent of the way through my first arc of my story, with almost all of it taking place in the beginning city and the area in, around, or under it.

Once the first arc's done, the main cast are set to leave the city proper and journey to another, where I plan on holding the second.

My question is this: for writers writing stories much like mine, how do you keep your traveling sequences interesting? Is it a matter of length? Proper exposition? Extended descriptions on any village your characters pass? Help

It highly depends. For me, I usually start by setting a clear end goal for the journey and a rough chapter count, so I know how long I want the travel arc to feel.

Then I fill the middle with encounters that actually connect to the purpose of the novel or the journey itself... character moments, conflicts, discoveries, worldbuilding, dangers, or hints for future arcs. That way, the travel doesn’t feel like filler.

Once I start writing, it often begins to shape itself naturally. Sometimes a small encounter turns into a much more interesting scenario or even a whole new storyline I didn’t originally plan.

For me, it’s a mix of structure at the start and instinct during the process.

 

[Nihlith]

Depends mostly on how interested the journey is. If the story is about how they get there, then you want to write about that. If the journey is not a big part of the story, describe it in passing. A sentence can do a lot of heavy lifting for you if you don't want to focus on traveling. That's easier on you and the reader.

 

[SoullessDiaz]

Travel is more than the destiny. People love reading what is in between, and so do I. Small adventures and situations make the travel worth the experience.

 

[worldismyne]

I usually will include a vital character moment when they're traveling, something the characters share or see that changes them if I really need a travel scene. If the scene would be static walking in the woods, I time skip.

 

[Hal82]

I’m working less in fantasy and adventure and more in the hard(ish) sci-fi space—but I tend to use travel scenes primarily to drive character development.

Have your characters stumble across things—ideally elements that can be woven into the main plot later on. Or simply depict everyday situations that help further define who they are. For instance, let them go looking for food, and show how a specific character approaches the task. Do they plan methodically, improvise, take risks, or rely on others?

You can also have them encounter landmarks and comment on them—not just to describe the setting, but to reveal something about their inner world. What one character sees as a marvel, another might dismiss as irrelevant, dangerous, or even nostalgic.

A few concrete examples i´ve used to shape travel scenes:

• Problem-solving under constraints:
  A malfunctioning environmental system forces the crew to ration oxygen or heat. One character follows protocol to the letter, another quietly bends the rules to protect someone else.
• Resource gathering as character mirror:
  While scavenging or hunting, one character prioritises efficiency, another hesitates, distracted by ethical concerns or memories tied to similar situations.
• Contrasting perceptions:
  The group passes a derelict station. One sees a tactical opportunity, another sees a graveyard, a third is reminded of home—same object, different emotional filters.
• Micro-conflicts:
  Small disagreements during travel—route choices, rest periods, risk tolerance—can reflect deeper tensions without needing overt confrontation.
• Quiet moments:
  Long stretches of travel are perfect for subdued interaction: fragmented conversations, shared routines, or even silence that says more than dialogue.

In the end, the journey itself becomes less about getting from A to B, and more about revealing who your characters are when nothing forces them to act—yet everything quietly does.