Sharpen travel writing skills
Posted: October 20, 2012 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: how to become a serious travel writer, Julie Schwietert, matador network, matadornetwork.com, travel journalism, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 4 discusses reporting and writing skills. Julie Schwietert, of the Matador network, offers advice on how to become a serious travel writer. The majority of her advice is reflected in the text however she has these few tips to add:
- Learn when to break the writing rules you’ve been taught
- get a writing partner
- prepare for rejection
- invest in yourself
- develop other relevant skills
- learn how to use an anecdote
- there is no such thing as objectivity
Adhering to Schwietert’s advice is a sure way to sharpen the necessary tools to become a serious and effective travel writer.
Skip the journey and appear at the destination
Posted: October 20, 2012 Contents: Chapter 3 | Tags: christopher elliot, destination, frommers.com, journey, travel cheap, travel journalism, travel writing, tsa Leave a comment »Chapter 3 discusses the concept of the journey as a key part of the story . However,
according to Christopher Elliott, an author at frommers.com, the excitement of
the journey and the corresponding stories are becoming tales of horror and terrible
experiences rather than hero journey tales.
Among the horrors of traveling Elliott describes run-ins with TSA while travelling by air
and annoying crewmembers on cruises constantly bombarding travelers with extras that
also cost extra. Elliot offers this message to those responsible for the journey:
“Yeah, we want to travel cheap. Truth be told, we’d pay nothing for our vacations if we could. That’s no excuse for turning the journey, which was once the best part of the travel experience, into torture.”
Lose the translator
Posted: October 20, 2012 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: budget travel, budgettravel.com, melody warnick, translator, travel journalism, travel language, travel technology, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 4 advises travelers on how to seek inexpensive but yet effective translators in foreign locations. What if the traveler gets separated or can no longer afford that translator? Not to worry Budget Travel.com’s Melody Warnick offers a few steps of advice that should be able to get the writer through the day.
A few are: Listen to Pronunciation Before you go. And learn key phrases like, “where’s the bathroom and how much does that cost.”
Trying to become fluent in a language for a week of traveling is illogical and not necessary. Learn a few key phrases, download some apps, and ask your concierge or clerk at the hotel for key phrases and pronunciations then go experience.
A local friend in your pocket
Posted: October 20, 2012 Contents: Resources | Tags: field trip, local, travel guide, travel journalism, travel research, travel technology, travel writer, travel writing Leave a comment »As a travel writer, conducting research on a destination while traveling is a sure way
to miss out on some great opportunities. Inevitably, however, without a local connection the travel writer will come to a point when she wants to explore more than she has researched.
Field Trip, a GoogleApp, might just be the traveler’s solution to this dilemma. As Google describes it,
“Field Trip is like having a local friend with you as you make your way through the city.”
Here’s a bit offered by Field Trip:
“Field Trip is your guide to the cool, hidden, and unique things in the world around you. Field Trip runs in the background on your phone. When you get close to something interesting, it pops up a card with details about the location. No click is required. If you have a headset or bluetooth connected, it can even read the info…
Add visuals to writing for a more complete story
Posted: October 20, 2012 Contents: Chapter 4 | Tags: photography, rose walker, travel journalism, travel photography, travel research, travel writer, travel writing 1 Comment »Chapter 4 discusses the need for research prior to travel. While the chapter focuses more on writing, Rose Walker offers this advice in Do Your Research to Become a Travel Writer to researching the destination:
“your next step as a travel writer is photography. Most travel writers take photos to go with their articles and most editors want photos. I am sure you have taken pictures while on vacation, but now you want to take professional pictures to sell. Do your research on what editors want in a photo, but most importantly do research on how to photograph pictures to sell.”
Using Walkers advice in addition to Chapter 4 the travel writer should have a complete set of tools to get their writing published along with some stunning visuals.
Add Google+Local to arsenal of travel apps and gadgets
Posted: October 3, 2012 Contents: Resources | Tags: dennis schaal, travel apps, travel gadgets, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel technology, travel writing, usa today, usa today travel Leave a comment »Resources mentions four Gadgets and Apps Every Travel Journalist Should Carry. Tack on Google+ Local. Travel.usatoday.com’s Dennis Schaal offers this description:
“If you’re traveling and looking for a restaurant, hotel or attraction, then Google has revamped its local-business search results through the prism of restaurant-review specialist Zagat and Google+, its own social network and answer to Facebook.”
The story – In three sentences or less
Posted: October 3, 2012 Contents: Chapter 6 | Tags: david miller, matador network, matadornetwork.com, micro travel notes, microblogging, travel journalism, travel journalist, travel writing Leave a comment »Chapter 6 cited microblogging — blog posts of 140 or fewer characters — as a tool for travel journalists. The Matador Network’s David Miller put out a call for something he calls Micro Travel Notes. Miller states,
“The goal was to tell a complete travel story–something with character, setting, chronology, and ideally, some kind of transformation–in three sentences or less.”
Get out there and make friends
Posted: October 3, 2012 Contents: Resources | Tags: aaron mashburn, frommers, frommers.com, locals, madeline reddington, Making friends model, travel advice, travel journalism, travel writing, traveling abroad Leave a comment »Building on Aaron Marshburn’s “Making Friends Model,” in Resources, Madeline Reddington in frommers.com, offers five ways to connect to locals while traveling. Reddington explains,
Most travelers realize in short order that our experiences abroad — and in other unfamiliar territories — are greatly enhanced by spending time with those who know it best, the locals. Whether you stay at their home, spend a weekend with them, or even chat over a beer, you’ll be opening yourself to a more intimate and genuine experience of your destination.
Reddington also recommends Triptrotting.com where travelers can connect with like-minded locals for offline meet ups.
The advice builds on the idea: Who knows the destination better than local residents?
Pico Iyer – Why travelers travel
Posted: October 3, 2012 Contents: Chapter 1 | Tags: pico iyer, travel advice, travel journalism, travel writing, why we travel, world hum, worldhum.com Leave a comment »Travel writer and journalist Pico Iyer offers this tidbit to WorldHum.com on why individuals travel:
Travel… guides us toward a better balance of wisdom and compassion—of seeing the world clearly, and yet feeling it truly. For seeing without feeling can obviously be uncaring; while feeling without seeing can be blind. Yet for me the first great joy of traveling is simply the luxury of leaving all my beliefs and certainties at home, and seeing everything I thought I knew in a different light, and from a crooked angle.
Avoid jetlag and changing clothes
Posted: October 3, 2012 Contents: Chapter 4, Resources | Tags: avoid common mistakes when traveling, avoid jet lag, budget travel, budgettravel.com, mistakes when traveling, save space when travling, terry ward, travel journalism, travel writing 1 Comment »Budgettravel.com’s Terry Ward offers advice on how to avoid the most common mistakes when traveling, especially when planning a quick getaway. For example, Mistake # 6 – travelers often forget to prepare for a new time zone. Ward suggests:
If it’s already nighttime in your destination when you step on the plane, pass on the in-flight meal and movie and pop in the earplugs for a snooze instead—that way you’ll be waking up with the locals, instead of feeling like it’s time to sleep when you touch down. Plan lots of outdoor activities for your first day in a different time zone, too—the sunlight and fresh air will keep you energized. If there’s no avoiding a snooze, try to limit yourself to a 20-minute power nap.
Ward also lists suggestions like dressing for more than one part of the day as a way to save time and space when traveling….
