How to Write a Travel Story
Writing a travel story is not only a great way to keep a journey fresh in your own mind but to share your experiences with readers and maybe even make them want to visit the same places. In addition, newspapers, travel magazines and tourist guidebooks are always looking for fillers and features and can provide some ongoing paychecks and assignments for freelance writers who have a demonstrated knowledge of a publication's demographic and the ability to turn in professional, reader-friendly copy.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
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Identify the target readership for your travel story and the takeaway value you'd like them to get from reading what you have to say. Examples of this include insights about foreign cultures, cuisine and politics, humorous tales about trips gone awry, misconceptions demystified and anecdotes related to off-the-beaten-path discoveries. Another option might be to invite your readers to experience your destination through the eyes of a local, a child or even your dog. Yet another route is to write the story from the perspective of someone who lived there in a prior century and can speak to the man-made and natural changes that have occurred.
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Determine the tone and format that will best convey your travel adventures. If it's about a weekend you spent at one of England's most haunted hotels, your approach might be dark, suspenseful and mysterious. A summer vacation with your former college roommates might wax wacky and nostalgic. Researching your ancestral roots might reflect the emotional and spiritual connections you feel to the past. You also need to decide whether your travel story is going to be told chronologically or will loosely revolve around a core theme or quest such as reconnecting with distant relatives or looking for the best steakhouse in Texas.
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Decide on a length for your travel story. This is based on a combination of how much you want to say and what limitations a prospective publisher puts on word counts. Let's say you want to aim for 900 words. Just like any other type of story, it's important to adhere to the three-act structure of beginning, middle and end. By dividing the total number of words by three, you then know how much space to devote to each act and are less inclined to have an uneven distribution of content. A chronological story set in Belize, for instance, would be divided as:
Act 1 - Getting to Belize
Act 2 - Experiencing Belize
Act 3 - Leaving Belize.
A thematic approach would also have three acts:
Act 1: Why I Went Looking For The Best Steakhouse
Act 2: Steakhouses I Discovered
Act 3: What I Learned From Eating So Much Beef. -
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Write down as many details as you'd like to include in the story before you commence the actual draft. These can either be created in a Word document or jotted down on index cards or Post-It notes and then moved around to create the most logical order. Refresh your memory by referring to photographs, maps and brochures you may have collected over the course of the trip. If you traveled with others, don't be shy about picking their brains and asking them to recall sights and events you might have forgotten.
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Put your reader on the scene by employing all five senses in describing what you ate, smelled, heard, saw and touched. This will help to bring the story alive and put readers in the right frame of mind to understand what you're trying to communicate. Let your personality -- and the personality of the environment -- shine through with vivid imagery. Supplement your story with photographs.
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Tips & Warnings
If you plan to sell your travel story, a preliminary skim through annual resource guides such as "Writer's Market" (published by Writer's Digest Books) will educate you on where your best chances are and the types of material being sought. Travel stories do not require submission by an agent. Strike a fair balance between objective and subjective commentary in your story. A travel story that spends more time describing every last angstrom of detail without revealing the writer's reaction to them is just as weak as one in which the writer rabbits on with page upon page of personal opinions and never discloses where she is. Always provide recommended websites, documentaries and books where readers can learn more things about each destination on their own. Keep in mind that your story is a savory teaser to whet their appetites.
A travel story shouldn't be littered with so many dates and facts that a reader will wonder if there's going to be a test on it later. The purpose of a travel story is to be entertaining, thought-provoking and informative without coming across as a lecture.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Photo by Phineas H./Flickr
