A Trip to the Wild
Samer ·
Three days without a signal in Wadi Rum, and the chapter that finally came together.
Every book has a chapter that refuses to be written. For The Return of the Exile it was the crossing of the desert, so I went to find one.
Three days in Wadi Rum
No signal, a notebook and a guide who knew every rock by name. I wrote by hand at dawn and walked in the afternoon heat to understand what my characters would feel.
What the desert taught me
- Silence has a sound, and it belongs on the page.
- Distances lie: a ridge that looks an hour away takes a day.
- Stars are a map, and they gave me the key to the chapter's ending.
The chapter is finished. You will read it in the new edition this spring.