Travel Writing for Beginners: Story Structure and Craft

As the eyes and ears of the world, it's good to get an understanding of the responsibilities and opportunities that being a travel writer entails.

In this lecture, we'll look at how to tailor your writing style to connect with and engage your target readers.

Should you find your beat and stick to it? Or cast your topical net widely? Specialise or generalise?

Each story will need a peg – something newsworthy that will make an editor want to commission you.

Before you put pen to paper, dive deep into your subject. Read and learn as much as you can about the culture, history, people, and geography of the place you’re writing about. The more you know, the richer your writing will be.

You'll want to find a strong angle for your travel writing. Something that makes it unique and fresh.

Now, let's create a strong narrative arc. Identify defining moments and impressions,  the key points you want to cover, and the message you want to convey.

Create a roadmap for your piece.  A compelling story has three main components: a beginning, a middle, and an end. A clear outline helps keep your writing focused and coherent. You can always change it or rewrite it, but having a clear outline before you start writing will help steer you as you go.

In this example, we'll look at Simon Calder's piece on Las Vegas, titled "Las Vegas: it's a gas, gas, gas".

How to incorporate interesting characters and dialogues into your travel stories.

In this example from Jamie Magazine. You can get a feel for the place from the people the writer meets and especially his tour guide Wilson (or Delroy). I actually edited this piece many years ago, and I remember it fondly, that's why I wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it too. As we read a passage from it, pay attention to his use of character and dialogue. Also his use of description, time and place. I’ve included a link to the whole article in the resources section, if you’d like to read the entire piece, which I highly recommend you do.

Bringing Characters to Life Through Dialogue. In this assignment, you will practice incorporating characters and dialogue into a travel story. Your goal is to create a vivid and engaging narrative that introduces readers to the local people and culture of a destination through interesting interactions and conversations.

Integrating accurate information with engaging storytelling

In this piece by writer Rosie Blau for The Economist, she describes how millions of Chinese people are visiting the beach for the first time. Photograph: Billy HC Kwok.

Identifying Publishing Opportunities. Exploring various platforms for publishing travel writing (magazines, guidebooks, newspapers, online platforms, personal blogs)

Magazines and newspapers are businesses: in retail terms, the reader is the customer, and the editor the chief buyer. Think like this, and you'll be much better off.  In this lecture will go into the process involved in pitching and getting published. By mastering the art of pitching and selling articles to editors, you will unlock  opportunities and generate an income. Emphasising unique selling points and personalising your pitch will significantly boost your conversion rate. With strategic  techniques and a deep understanding of the publication and its audience, you can position yourself accordingly, showcasing your expertise and establishing long-term success as a freelance writer.

A lot of publications have guidelines on how to pitch them on their website, so just Google your chosen publication and you should find instructions on the site. Travel and Leisure have very comprehensive instructions, but some just have a contact of who to pitch to, so it varies.