http://www.writers-online.co.ukwww.writers-online.co.uk MARCH 2020^67will have had exactly that interview,
that combination of seeing not just the
sights but people who work around
them. This requires more planning,
more time and the ability to listen to
people – not the easiest thing to do
as it is often human nature to want
to talk rather than keep quiet and let
someone else speak. But if you can
cultivate this skill it will give your
article colour and depth.The hard truth
The third hook focuses on controversy,
where we bring to light those things that
the travel brochures never tell you about.
Some years ago I took a flight into
the wilderness of Tasmania. It was
one of the best travel experiences of
my life and also the most disturbing
for, from the air, I could see the true
extent of how pollution from the
mining industries was destroying the
natural landscape.
We should not shy away from these
subjects. Good travel writing is honest.
It sees the bad as well as the good.
Controversy comes in many forms. It
could be a supermarket muscling in
on a small town and forcing shops to
close, or a bypass ruining the peace
of a walkers’ paradise. If you are that
walker, or if you’re on a weekend break
standing outside the empty windows of
what used to be the local delicatessen,
those facts should be included as part
of your article, or your blog. It will give
it integrity. Turning away from harsh
reality will always come back to haunt
you, for people will notice these things
if they follow in your footsteps and
wonder why you made no mention of
them in your writing.Make the most of the weather
We Brits have an obsession with the
weather. Wherever we go we will talk
about it. If we broaden that theme to
cover all types of physical phenomena
from the natural world there are rich
pickings to be had.
I recently spent several months on the
Canal du Midi in the south of France. I
was expecting warm sunshine and blue
skies. I wasn’t expecting strong winds for
days on end and had no idea that the
various types of wind, be they wet or
dry, hot or cold, are such a feature of this
region that the locals have a whole range
of names to describe them. Most people
have heard of the Mistral but we alsocame across the Levant, the Tramontaine
and the Marin.
You can never predict what the
weather is going to do, but if you are
travelling and an extreme weather
event occurs around you, seize the
opportunity to write about it. A trip
to Australia some years previously
coincided with devastating wild fires
that destroyed homes and acres of
vineyards. Here in the UK we are seeing
towns flooded and businesses and local
people having to pick up the pieces and
carry on. If you are visiting a beauty
spot a year on from such an event there
is a very obvious headline just waiting
for you.Close to home
Never underestimate the power of
knowing what goes on in your own
backyard. Kate Humble has used this
principle to good effect in her latest
book Thinking on My Feet where she
explores the footpaths and trails around
her home. It is a gentle book without
disasters or moments of high adrenalin
but you get a sense that she knows her
patch very well and sharing it with her
through the seasons is a pleasure.
In The Pull of the River, Matt Gaw
simply gets into a home-made canoe
and sets off along the river that runs
through his home town in Suffolk.
From the water, everything looks
different, and it’s not all pretty, but
the book is more readable because of
the contrast.
It is so easy to undervalue what is
very familiar to us, but both editors and
readers can instinctively tell when the
writer has an in-depth knowledge of
what they are writing about.The weird and the wonderful
Look out for the eccentricities in life.
They make for great reading. On a trip
down the Moselle, famous for its wines
and castles, we stumbled across the
show room/museum and factory outlet
shop for a company called Villeroy and
Boch, manufacturers of fine porcelain- and toilets. The museum was one of
the most interesting I have ever been
in and there were more people in the
outlet shop than in any of the well-
known tourist attractions. I would like
to say that people were binge-spending
on the toilets, but honesty compels me
to admit they were having their annual
sale of fine dining ware and this was the
real attraction.
It is unlikely that you will get a whole
article out of the weird and wonderful,
but it is a good way to add a bit of
quiet humour.The final hurdle
Once you’ve written this masterpiece,
whether it is an article or a travel
memoir, the hard work really begins.
Now you have to find someone who
might want it. Writers across the board
say that rejection is part of the job and
you just have to develop a thick skin
and plough on through it. My skin has
never been that thick and so I do as
much work on targeting outlets for my
work as I do in writing my articles.
The travel writing market is not an
easy one to break in to. The big hitters,
the likes of Wanderlust and Conde
Nast, have a stable of very experienced
writers and your chances of success here
are slim. It might be better to ease your
way into the market through county
magazines and local newspapers. Also
look out for magazines that relate to
particular professions or industries
which may have a section on travel.
If you’ve written a book, identify
agents who specialise in similar, travel-
related markets. Alternatively the
advent of self-publishing has opened up
all sorts of possibilities and is a route
well worth considering.
Whatever happens, whether you get
published or you don’t, you will always
have one reader and that is yourself.
Your writing is a lasting memory of
what you saw and what you did. Be
proud of it.TRAVEL WRITING
Useful contacts
British Guild of Travel Writers:
http://www.bgtw.orgOutdoor Writers and
Photographers Guild:
http://www.owpg.org.uk