Introduction to Travel Writing: The reality of travel writing. Types of travel writing. Which type and place for your own work? Angles.
Destination Articles: Exploring destination articles. Structure—lead, nut graph, body, kicker. Moving parts—sense of place, people, facts, opinion, hed/dek. Outlines. Variables—point of view, length.
Travel Memoir & Essay: Exploring travel memoirs. Aspect. Story—structure, theme. Scene and reflection. People and place. Exploring travel essays. Moving parts—viewpoint and personal experience, structure. Blurred boundaries in literary travel writing.
Roundups & Guidebooks: Exploring roundups. Types of roundups. Writing a roundup. Writing tight. Exploring guidebooks. Guide to guidebooks. Writing guidebooks.
Description/Voice: Description techniques—sensory, specificity, creativity, clichés, modifiers. An eye for details. What is voice? Personal voice. Publication voice. Finding your voice.
Blogs/Photography: Types of travel blogs. Blog content. Reasons to blog (including making money). Setting up a blog. Building an audience. Photography advice.
Travel News: Hard news. Feature articles. Advice articles. The seven “news values.”
Travel Planning & Research: How to plan travel to find stories. Research. Resources. Traveling cheap or free. PR and ethics.
Pitching: Selling books. Selling short pieces. The publication landscape. Homing in. Query letters. Sending out/hearing back.
The Travel Writing Pro: Working with an editor. Building a career—money, relationships, self-promotion. Your view of the world.
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
