The tourist has an ethnocentric point of view—the unchallenged belief that his or her way of thinking is the best way. The “traveler” is more likely to consider another person’s point of view, another culture’s point of view, and to aim for some kind of humanistic way of judging people, actions, customs. If we apply this to writing, the “tourist” is doomed to write bad fiction, because good writing and strong characters require empathy. Continue reading →