Travel Writers Online

In this pocket-sized paperback, Methods for Travel Writers I set out the design methods for you to develop your travel stories and your own literary style for your blog posts or longer travel stories. The reason I propose these D-Methods is to provide experiments to try with your pieces of writing, drawn from travel literature and creative non-fiction. D-Methods for Destinations  I number each method but prefix them with the letter D, so that you can refer to each one and as a reminder that each is a design decision as you develop your writing on the destination that you are researching. For example, I propose the use of the first person, the I-narrator to draw attention to your own identity as the investigative travel writer exploring the location.  The literary travel writer, W G Sebald draws attention to his notebook and journaling in this way so that his readers can imagine him there,  'And so I found myself, hardly knowing how I came there, in the entrance hall of t...

Please ensure you have completed Step1 before starting this second step. Step 1 is here   Step 2 - Out in the Field Later, preferably after 2 days, please visit the exact spot you described in your first blog entry, based on the place in your imaginary. You are heading outside so you will need all your field equipment, that is: warm clothes, pens for writing with ink that does not run in the rain, a hardback notebook of, I suggest, A5-sized pages that lie flat, so spiral bound is good. Your 'phone and the Google Keep App on your 'phone with your mic activated.  Be sure to have the journaling notes from Step 1 with you so that you can see your old notes on the quantitative question you tried to answer for yourself from your imaginary.  I bought Oxford Black n' Red A5 hardback for fieldwork Log in your journaling notebook the date and time and any spatial landmarks to help locate the exact spot including - Time, day, date and year, like this: 10:02am Monday 31st Octobe...

Preparing for Journaling in the Field This three-step activity for bloggers aims to get you started with your own travel blog writing. It takes you through the design of three posts to your blog. The 3 steps aim to give you direct practice in journaling, making field notes, preparing for fieldwork and keeping a record of your practice for later analysis. You will need notebooks for your fieldnotes. I always have a stock of these Black n' Red. The wire bound spine lets the notebook open flat and the hardback provides support for writing when standing up.  The other learning objectives are to understand how human memory and passing time have been conceptualised and how these can help in your evolving identity as a productive writer. Finally, it is an opportunity to start to think about the literary concepts of the addressee and deixis. Google Blogger is free web logging software with free server space. Please try a Google Blogspot, if you have not already set up your blog with anothe...

on  the rue Picpus in Paris.  Glance at the front cover of the US edition of Modiano’s novel. Can you see the street running diagonally through the background map? It is the rue Picpus. In that same edition of the evening newspaper mentioned in the previous blog-post, Paris-soir , on page 2 is the heading: Signé Picpus . It is an instalment from a serialised novel by Georges Simenon with his famous detective, Maigret as the main character.  What is the significance of Picpus for these two writers of mystery? Looking forward to hearing your literary detective discoveries... In the mean time, please re-read last week's post on Patrick Modiano and literary detective work at  Read last week's blog post   A 3-Step activity for travel writers online starts in the post for 28th October 2022. Please Follow this blog below to be sure you do not miss Step 1... 

The article-length post from the Travel Writers Online magazine that has the highest number of reads is 'Across the Bay from Concarneau'. Is it possible to see why so many people enjoy it? Reasons for Viewing a Blog Post The first two reasons are often discussed by writers and bloggers in the tourism industry. First, the recounted story is on-topic for those who follow this online magazine. And, second, it is a full-length article. By that, I mean, it is the classic size of three A4 pages of handwritten text. When I count one side of my writing, it comes to 350 words so 3 of those makes 1050 words. When you transfer your handwritten text into to your digital workspace, for example, Google Keep, you usually edit and improve the readability. I also add my photo captions at that stage, too. These writerly processes increase the word count to 1250 words. This substantial text gives the Google search bots sufficient content to classify the page and add it to Google's database f...