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 [...]
Last year at about this time I wrote a blog post about… …how I spend the last week of every year (as I have for many years) in quiet reflection on what I’ve accomplished during the year that’s just passed… …did I meet all of my goals? Some of them? Am I happy with how [...]
Since launching our blog Santa Fe Travelers in December 2010, it’s become a vital part of my life. While I love blogging, there are some inherent things about writing for the web that irk me. I think that to keep quality content on the web and to minimize gaming the system, change is needed. Will [...]
Years ago, while driving around Norway, my colleague (also a journalist) suddenly announced quite smugly… …“Well…I’ve come up with a title and a first sentence, so my story is done. Now I can relax and enjoy Scandinavia.” At the time, I didn’t quite get what she meant, but over the years, I’ve come to understand. [...]
A few weeks ago, someone I was traveling with lost her luggage… …well, briefly so. We arrived at our baggage carousel at Heathrow, and within five minutes, two out of three of us had our bags. We waited and watched the conveyor belt empty out and as it ground to a halt, it became very [...]
Rejection is a natural part of being a writer. Even those writers and authors who have gone on to achieve international success were, at one point or another, rejected. One of the differences between those who go on to be successful and those who don’t is the willingness to learn from the experience and [...]
Welcome to another installment of Ask The Editor! Today I cull once again through the copious questions from my email inbox, and pull another one that I hear frequently enough that it belongs in an FAQ somewhere: Q. Why do my article pitches and guest posting efforts get rejected? Sometimes I don’t even get [...]
Everyone has a story in them. You just have to put it down. Now, with so many internet opportunities, everyone can become a writer or at least a blogger. Here’s my story. I loved writing until my high school English teacher trashed a short story I wrote. I was crushed and put down my pen. [...]
At the end of each year, I have a personal tradition that I engage in. I spend the last week of the year in quiet reflection of the year that has just passed, and the new year that is to come. I make time in my schedule to be alone, with just my notes from [...]
Do you own a travel blog but at the moment you just aren’t traveling? I’ve seen this brought up before and empathized with the rants of frustration and envy. It can leave one full of doubt as you ponder over your latest trip to the local apple orchard. Was the apple orchard news worthy? After [...]
Travel writers can be a restless lot. You have this urge to spend long hours exploring a place, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a new exciting one or a familiar favorite. You just need to go there, take photos, feel the sensation, eat, pray, love, whatever. Then you’ll feel this urge to share what [...]
The first time I went to Greece was in 1997. I had decided to see a bit of Europe after spending some months on the island of Ibiza. As things were, I had picked up a German copy of Henry Miller’s “The Colossus of Maroussi” a book that I still keep albeit in a rather [...]
There’s no such thing as a free lunch – but who wants to eat alone anyway? One day during the summer of 2009, I picked up the phone and Vibhava, an IndiaTourism officer I knew, said: “I have been reading your blog. You really love India. The next time you go to India, you will [...]
Where do you find the time to write? That is a question most writers ask themselves at one time or another, or all of the time. I’ve taken more time management classes than I can count and always pick up a hint or two that I can incorporate. However, I discovered most people taking these [...]
The first time I walked into a writer’s workshop, I had a story to tell and thought it was ready to rock and roll. After all, hadn’t I just spent six months crouched over my laptop in the garage of my cousin’s house, wrapped in a blanket and writing my story? Hadn’t the publisher agreed [...]
