After twenty years of travel obsession, Ben Holbrook signs up to the London School of Journalism’s travel writing course – here’s the inside scoop on his bizarre but brilliant experience. Sitting at a bar drinking ice-cold San Miguel, a suitcase-sized screen showed lions ripping deer to pieces on National Geographic TV. I scribbled notes in [...]
Editor’s Note: This is the final article in a Three-Part Series Six Things You Need to Know About Travel Writing. Although a travel writing workshop helped me jump into the field, experience and time were my best teachers. I read other travel writers, researched outlets, sent out queries and wrote voraciously. Some of my attempts [...]
Editor’s Note: This article is Part Two in a Three-Part Series How DO You land that first travel writing assignment? It’s an age-old question that many aspiring travel writers have asked — how do I get a writing assignment if I don’t have any writing clips yet? It is, understandably, a frustrating conundrum, and it [...]
Editor’s Note: This article is Part One in a Three-Part Series It’s funny how one small decision can change your life. Fourteen years ago, I was working as a stringer for The Chicago Tribune. Based in Colorado, I covered the usual news topics. Then Columbine happened, and I spent the next year covering the sorrow [...]
Have you been reluctant to take lessons in writing, watch online seminars or read books on improving your writing? Perhaps you fear that if you are too heavily influenced by outside sources you will lose the originality and raw talent of your own style. Or, that your writing will become like the boring literature they [...]
Research is the key for all writers, especially when you are a travel writer. Whether you are writing about exotic destinations, new hotel openings, the best restaurants or the most popular spa…you need to do your research about whatever topic your article will be about. Research on your subject will allow you to learn about [...]
For some reason, most people believe (falsely) that they need loads of cash, and a year long sabbatical to write a travel book. Don’t get me wrong, having loads of cash is never a bad thing, but it just isn’t necessary. The most expensive part of travel should be the plane ticket, which hopefully you [...]
As an international travel writer, I’m routinely asked these same three questions from people I meet: 1) What’s you favorite place in the world? 2) How did you become a travel writer? 3) How can I (or my college-bound teen) become a travel writer? For this post, I am skipping the first two and just [...]
Victorian towns with a touch of the Old West swaggering out the saloon doors. Stickball in a 19th century Native American village. Discovering over 500 varieties of soda. A wildlife refuge where Teddy Roosevelt once hunted with Comanche war chief Quanah Parker. Celebrating a centennial. Oil barons and their riches. Experiencing the sights and smells [...]
About four years ago, in a fit of naivety and suffering from a serious case of itchy feet… …I jacked in my steady career job in PR, bought an entry level D-SLR camera and booked a ticket to South America. I had it all worked out; I was going to become a travel writer. I [...]
Travel writing is a competitive field, which means it’s especially important for you to turn in flawless, polished pieces. By following these essential proofreading tips for travel writers, you can improve your writing and offer vivid information to readers: Proofread your draft shortly after your trip. Do your best to begin the proofreading process shortly [...]
The web is a busy place, and as writers, we are in an uphill battle to … …overcome the noise and make our message heard, to highlight the best advice, tips, and stories we have to give, and then hope and pray that the gods of the internet bless us with the traffic our posts [...]
If a picture is worth 1000 words, using multimedia in your travel writing speaks volumes. Thanks to numerous open source applications, travel writers can now quickly and easily include video, timelines, data visualizations, and other interactive media directly into their travel articles. The following lists five indispensable tools for travel writers looking to add content [...]
Every writer, whether amateur or pro, has at some point dreamed about the amazing lifestyle of a travel writer. It’s rewarding already just to be able to make your living with your craft, and travel writers get to see some of the most amazing places in the world while doing just that, living what seems [...]
Interviewing another person is one of the important skills that any travel writer may wish to develop. Interviewing anyone – whether a tour guide, a celebrity, hotelier or a fellow traveler – will give you new ideas to write about, and a fresh angle on what might have looked like a stale story line. Quotes [...]
