by Catherine L. Tully
In order to make your travel writing good travel writing, you need to find an angle. This can mean:
- It teaches readers something they didn’t already know about the area, people, etc. Education is always a good angle to take—people love to learn. This means doing meticulous reasearch and double/triple-checking your facts and data.
- It tugs at the heartstrings. Illuminating the plight of natives or highlighting some natural wonder that is awe-inspiring can be effective ways to capture the reader’s interest.
- It provides a clear picture of a slice of the destination. It has been said time and again, but it always bears repeating: show, don’t tell. Create an image for the reader instead of giving them a play-by-play of your thoughts or activities. It’s so much better when you read it. Plus, editors almost universally hate it when you don’t make the effort to follow that tidbit. And remember–a slice of the place–not the whole banana.
- It gives readers a possible itenerary of things to do in the area. Don’t give the reader something they can get by a search on the web. Dig deeper. Find the hidden gems and share them.
That isn’t a definitive list, but it should get you thinking about how to write a well thought out travel piece. Oh–and another thing–you don’t have to do all of these in a single article. As a matter-of-fact, you shouldn’t try to do them all at once. Use these to begin slanting a piece so that it isn’t too general, and make sure you take the tone of the publication you intend to query into consideration.