Issue #1
April 15, 2023

Dear friends,

What are you when you keep returning to the same place for weeks or months at a time? Not a tourist, exactly, but not a resident, either. Still curious and eager, but mindful of the need to do laundry and stock the fridge. Knowledgeable enough to feel confident, but not enough to avoid getting lost. Certainly not qualified as a tour guide.

Case in point: A couple of months ago, I led my brother-in-law and niece into a taxi in downtown Oaxaca, en route to a restaurant at 106 Bugambilias Street in the municipality of Santa Lucía del Camino.

The driver dropped us off on a suspiciously quiet and residential road. I should have asked him to stay, but, cloaking my confusion in false confidence, I let him go.

I asked a few passersby if there was a restaurant nearby. Definitely not. I made a call. Checked the map. As it turns out, Santa Lucía del Camino has two Bugambilias Streets, located in entirely different neighborhoods.

I tried to summon a car on Didi, a local rideshare and delivery app. But Didi unilaterally decided I must want to order a meal. It offered several options it could bring to me, failing to understand that I wanted to go to the food.

We walked through quiet streets in the vague direction of a busy road. I told my niece, who is 10, that this was an adventure. With the help of my brother-in-law’s superb whistling abilities, we eventually flagged another taxi.

It brought us to Antojitos Doña Inés at the correct 106 Bugambilias Street, which, for the record, is the one in El Bosque Sur, not the one in Los Flores Sur. And it is very much the right place to go if you want to eat a tlayuda, a very large corn tortilla served with asiento (pork fat), refried beans, quesillo (string cheese), and other toppings.

This incident of getting lost and found sums up the state of my relationship with the city of Oaxaca, where Joe and I have now spent three Februaries. If places were people, this would be the moment when we transition from the first flush of passion to something more long term. I’m a visitor who’s become attached. The sunshine and cobblestones and murals and flavors and artists and chefs keep luring us back.

What does that make me? “Snowbird” would imply retirement, and “digital nomad” has the cringey whiff of marketing category. (Which it sort of is: There are some 35 million digital nomads in the world, according to a study by ABrotherAbroad.com. That’s more than half the population of France.)

What places draw you to return? Do they make you feel like you’re home or away or something in between?

On Rufino Tamayo Street in Oaxaca with a paleta. Photo by Joe Ray 

Starting a Second Novel

I’ve started work on a second novel — but I seem to have forgotten how to go about it.

With the first novel, I wrote a beginning that became a middle. The characters in the final draft are mostly unrecognizable from who they were when I started writing about them. But the setting and activity survived: A small group of people is driving through the night to get to a party at a seaside resort. As I start another book, it’s nice – and daunting – to know that some of what I write now may survive.

This time I started by writing a synopsis, complete with plot twists and ending, something I’ve never done so early in the process. When I’ve written synopses before, it’s only been after the fact, to describe what was already on the page. I intend this new synopsis as a road map. How much it will resemble the final product is anyone’s guess. Ideally, my characters will become so fully formed that they take on a momentum of their own, causing my synopsis to fall away like a shattered mold. But for now, it’s a sort of security blanket, a reassurance to myself that I have a plan.

I can’t be alone in my desire for a road map. What’s the first step you take when you start a major new writing project?

My most recent printout of The Outlier, wrinkled from travel.

Five Faves: Podcasts on Writing

I listen to these when I’m walking, which I do a lot.

Travel Writing World. Host Jeremy Bassetti interviews the best travel writers working today. They talk about how globalization, technology, and social change have influenced both travel and writing about it. Jeremy also does a newsletter roundup of the latest travel, place, and nature writing.

The Creative Penn. My favorite thing about host Joanna Penn is her sunny outlook. She zooms in on how technology is changing the publishing industry, but instead of fretting that the robots will destroy us, she explores how we can take advantage of them. She also does thoughtful episodes on writing craft and on book marketing.

Scriptnotes. Hosts John August and Craig Mazin (who wrote HBO’s Chernobyl and The Last of Us) discuss “screenwriting, and things that are interesting to screenwriters.” Most shows focus on craft. One of my favorite segments is “How Would This be a Movie,” wherein they debate which ripped-from-the-headline items might translate to screen.

Longform. The three hosts ask today’s best nonfiction writers about how they approach their craft and careers. Some of my favorite recent interviews have been with Rachel Aviv and Vauhini Vara.

Lit Up. Host Angela Ledgerwood has an incredibly soothing voice, and uses it to ask authors about craft and creativity. I loved her interviews, for instance, with novelists Laura Warrell and Katie Kitamura. A good place to discover new books or learn more about those you’ve read.

Let’s Talk

Do you have a question about writing or travel?

Ask me at eavesdrop@elisabetheaves.com.

Happy trails,
Elisabeth