Do you like to travel? Would you like to have a career change? Want to begin a travel writing career? Who could not use some travel writing tips?
It’s always a good idea to gather information from multiple resources, so we’ve collected these tips over the years from our contributors. The more resources the merrier!
There are so many benefits to becoming a travel writer, who wouldn’t like to get paid to see the world and share experiences? You can find jobs with newspapers, magazine, websites, or even become an influencer. Some travel bloggers make a lot of money, even with little or no experience!
Before taking-off for your next adventure, here’s some important advice for travel writing to help you create the perfect piece.
1. Set the scene
Start with this advice – from having a clear storyline and using dialogue, to beginning with a killer first paragraph. This is the one tip which should stick in your head. It’s easy to forget when you’re writing that other people weren’t actually there to witness the almost pure black storm clouds, the completely cuboid shape of the rocks which looked as if someone had cut them by machine, or the ridiculously humid sticky heat that made you feel like you were trapped in a sauna. It might sound corny but setting the scene makes people feel as if they are part of the story as opposed to just reading it!
2. Choose a style
Your writing style and tone can be anything from very informal first person (yup that’s me!) to word perfect fit-for-a-king style writing. Go with whatever suits you, but make sure you keep the same style throughout each piece or project to really give your writing an identity.
3. Title
Your title is almost as important as the rest of your piece, if your title isn’t perfect you’ve lost half your audience before you’ve even started.
4. Follow the story
Try not to jump back and forth between different times and/or places – you don’t have to write everything in exact chronological order but make sure it flows.
5. Read
One of the best ways to become a better writer is to read everything on your topic you can get your hands on, subconsciously you pick up so many ideas and tips!
6. Be unique
There is so much content available online, it’s hard to write anything truly unique but try to make your piece as specific and individual as possible. There are a million posts about travelling in Paris, but a single mum’s weekend off trying to find the best wine bar in Paris, not so many!
7. Simplify
Write simply, look at each sentence and make sure there are no unnecessary words, then look at each paragraph and make sure there aren’t any unnecessary sentences etc.
8. Read Aloud
Use a reader programme (Word has one) to read your post out loud, this gives you the opportunity to find mistakes you often miss when reading back your own work, or get a close friend or family member (who you can trust to be honest!) to review your writing.
9. Adventure
People want to read about something they don’t already know about, so the further afield you adventure the more people will be interested in what you have to say!
10. Enjoy Writing
If you didn’t enjoy writing it, people probably won’t enjoy reading it and vice versa!
Travel writing is a competitive industry, be sure to check tips for digital nomads before embarking on this career. If you are lacking experience you might like to view internships abroad to boost your skills and knowledge.