You’re a travel writer. You don’t write about food or gardening. You write about travel therefore, you have a niche. Unfortunately, unless you have star status as a travel writer, you’re not niche enough. Budget-strapped editors hiring freelancers don’t get stars for the majority of their stories. All things being equal, they hire writers with [...]
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 [...]
With the rush to get scoops on stories or simply to just write and post a piece before one heads out to the gym in the morning… …. we all know, editorial standards have taken a nose dive. Some of this I can live with occasionally. The word “there” inadvertently spelled “their” for example. [...]
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 [...]
As a follow up to her earlier Guest Article…. … Writing The Perfect Lodging Review, well-known professional travel writer and Uptake Lodging Editor Nancy D. Brown takes a break from her perpetual traveling to share with us more of her sage advice on writing. Here are her tips on writing that perfect destination [...]
Travel writers necessarily have to think from two perspectives at the same time… … that experienced perspective your readers have come to expect from you, and your reader’s perspective. The former knows which bus to take to get to the train station and where to get it, while the latter needs more guidance. Whether [...]
Some of us have the good fortune of living in the place we love most in the world… … So that when it comes to writing about that place, all we have to do is look out the window for inspiration. Every time I’m in Italy, my cup runneth over with ideas for articles that [...]
