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Open Blog Weekend: Writing a Travel Blog

Open Blog Weekend

Thanks to cheaper airfare and accommodation, more and more people are able to travel these days. This means that many people are also choosing to write about their travel experiences. If you want to stand out, however, there are certain things that you need to follow as well as a few common mistakes to avoid. Here are a few tips for the aspiring travel writer:

Avoid overly complex language and sentence structures

The purpose of travel writing is to share your perspective with people from all kinds of backgrounds, convincing them to embark on their own adventures and experience firsthand everything that you’ve described and more. Whether you choose to sleep comfortably in resorts, couch surf or house sit your way around the world; string your thoughts together in a way that can be understood by most. Whatever you do, don’t use your piece as an opportunity to show off your privilege, or include obscure language and references that makes it seem you’re above your readers. Put shortly, don’t write like a snob says Writing World.

Add more context
Much of travel writing these days mostly involves personal accounts and experiences rather than what Matt Hershberger of the Matador Network refers to as travel reporting. The majority of blogs fall short in terms of in-depth journalism, and such lack of resources leads to readers discovering more about the writer instead of the destination itself. Writers of the kind often spend more time alluding to Parisian romance over informative details when looking at the Eiffel Tower replica in Las Vegas, but at the end of we want to read something with more substance and learn more about the Paris Las Vegas Hotel or whatever point of interest in question. Be descriptive, and highlight the significance of the place you’ve visited. Going back to the Eiffel Tower, you could mention tidbits like the Vegas landmark being ingrained into pop culture with features in Hollywood blockbusters, specifically Resident Evil: Extinction and 2012 according to information portal Mayfair Casinos.

Be true to your observations
As writers, we try to tailor our pieces with colorful language to paint a full picture of our encounters. Though just because we have to offer our unique insight on our travels, it doesn’t mean we have to go as far as adding unnecessary personification, exaggerated adjectives, embellishing stories to the point that the experience may seem fabricated altogether. Ruins don’t beckon at every turn and chimney tops don’t sing their welcome. Write what you experience through your five senses. As broadcast journalist Tom Corbett explains, you should take your readers to that destination using your words and share genuine accounts that make them say, “Wow, I didn’t know that.”

Always proofread your work!
In order for anyone to take you seriously as a travel writer, your work must be flawless. Mistakes in grammar, punctuation, repetition and spelling can be very distracting for readers and essentially cause confusion, affecting your credibility as a writer and as someone who offers travel advice. Anything you publish must be free from errors, as that will help you gain a following.

 

Exclusively written for Self Publishers Showcase
By The Travel Bloggirl

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