Travel Writing 101

By Necee Regis

Good morning! I’m happy to see so many cheerful faces today. Well, okay-to be accurate-half-asleep faces, some wearing iPod earbuds and others tweeting or texting. Whatever. Welcome! I know you’re all excited to learn about the adventures that await you as travel writers in the 21st century.

As fledgling journalists I’m certain you’ve arrived with burning questions about the industry, such as: How can I travel for free and also get paid? Do any health insurance plans cover dengue fever? And, will anyone care if my scribbled notes are soaked with rum?

We’ll get to those questions later, and more! But first, I have to inform you about some changes in the craft of travel writing.

First, that whole narrative arc thing? Fugetaboutit! The stories of a brash and creative traveler embarking on a grand and sometimes questionable adventure that’s then immortalized in piercing prose? That’s over! Been there, done that. Kaput! Pico Iyer? Paul Theroux? They’re so 20th century. Travel stories today are all about information, such as where to eat pecan pie in Louisiana and where to sleep for less than $100 in Brazil. They are lists. Short, succinct lists that include phone numbers and websites and a price range for each double suite or available entrée. Admission prices too, when applicable.

Which leads me to our next topic: Celebrities! Has Brittney slept there? A-Rod eaten there? Michael (R.I.P.) sashayed through the lobby? There’s your hook! Who cares if the service is lousy for mere mortals? The important thing is to drop a name–which will be highlighted and linked online–which then creates a buzz about the island-hotel-restaurant-bar or fill-in-the-blank place that you recommend. Plus your name gets associated with a really cool celebrity, especially if you link your story to their Wikipedia page. It’s a win-win proposition.

Still, travel writing isn’t an easy career choice. The rigors of the biz today are more demanding than in the past. Sure, in the 20th century writers had to endure long cramped flights, train rides through remote terrain, and risked frostbite and malaria to tell a great story. Poor them.

IMHO, the contemporary travel writer endures far worse conditions: endless hours of sitting at a desk and never seeing the sun while surfing the net for ideas and stories that can be twisted into slightly different versions for your own ideas and stories. It’s exhausting. I say, laugh at carpal tunnel syndrome and weight gain from Cheez-its and iced Frappucinos at your peril.

The easiest way to sell a travel story nowadays is to break the story down into easily digestible components: 10 Things to Do in 10 Cities with 10 People for 10 Dollars. 50 Gifts for Children in 20 Duty-Free Shops in 20 Far-Flung Airports. Editors love these stories and readers do too. 15 Pristine Beaches with 30 Super-Cool Cocktails in 5 Hot Countries? Brilliant! Add some pictures and an online photo gallery, and you hardly have to write anything at all.

Of course, it’s harder to not write than it looks. In fact, and this is important, short is the new long. Readers won’t finish a story if they have to turn the page or click to another screen. So the trick for you, as writers, is to compose a compelling sentence or two (under 140 characters for your fans on Twitter!) that sounds less like a chamber of commerce blurb and more like a dynamic sound bite that’s snappy and cliché-free. Think that’s easy? Think again.

My last point this morning is that, in truth, no one has to travel at all anymore, certainly not travel writers. The pay is low, paid expenses are nil, and besides, it’s just so messy, don’t you agree? What with airport security, and delayed flights, the hoards of families on the go with screaming infants, soaring hotel taxes, bad exchange rates, your mother-in-law’s lumpy couch in Boca, and swine flu, aren’t you better off in your comfortable PJs working in the warm glow of your computer screen? I think so.

Well, that’s all for today, class. Check my Facebook page for your next assignment. And happy travels!