Travel Writing: Jumping Over the First Hurdle of Negative Mind Talk
Why do I say this with such assuredness? Because I would estimate that at least 99 per cent of the published articles in this writing genre which are in existence today have been crafted by those who initially witnessed another’s globe-trotting experience via a print publication, online, or by television/film. Those documented experiences broke the ground or continued to till the literary earth for future travel-themed subject matter. As a result, the domino effect continues in generating further interest by people who desire to experience what they read about and/or saw.
It isn’t necessarily a destination piece from the Sunday travel section of a newspaper about an escape from the daily humdrum of routine life that hooks the reader into wanting to experience the adventure of travel. Think about the buzz Marco Polo stirred up in Europe over the Orient by way of his writings and spoken-about adventures. Sometimes, it could be a less famous, but just as entertaining account of the grandparents’ mis-adventures with their grandkids in their restored Winnebago while traversing across the United States. Reading a novel like The Da Vinci Code or the Harry Potter series, both of which are full of travel hotspots, may inspire some readers to experience the same venues of a novel’s protagonist(s) in as realistic a way as possible, and then write about it.
I want to share some samples of article titles and writing ideas I’ve had, along with the ensuing nay-saying thoughts which came to my mind when I considered writing, and then submitting the following travel-themed works:
-The Angels of Cape Town: Cape Town Tourist Police whisk naÃ?¯ve traveler to the safety of the city’s harbor front. Negative thought: Aren’t there enough angel stories on tv or in religious magazines so the travel industry will not touch this kind of writing?
-Volunteers Wanted For Spanish Experience: Volunteer work in remote areas of Spain where the participants just talk, talk, and talk some more. English only all week. Negative thought: Too one-dimensional for any real interest.
-Running in Airports: Don’t Waste Your Pre-Departure or Layover Time! Negative thought: Don’t travelers think that exercising at LAX is reserved just for those who run because they are about to miss their flight?
-My Travelin’ Roots: about a child’s travels in a semi-truck when school was out. Negative thought: Isn’t this the kind of subject matter kids submitted to their 5th grade teachers for an English essay – that “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” fare?
My will was stronger than my negative self-talk, and I submitted all the above writings. Rejections and re-tweaking the articles followed. But the end result was publication for pay for each of them, including as reprints. Sometimes the accepting editors did change the titles and content a bit, but nonetheless, my writings did create interest in other people outside my social, work, and family sphere.
To reiterate, the roots of these writing successes stem from the works of other writers, who, in their pioneer-like fashion, got me interested in their places of interest: I was captivated. I experienced them in my own way, then wrote about them with my own interpretation and style (plus facts where required), pitched them, had them rejected, but through persistence, finally found homes for all of the above works.
Don’t let negative self-talk convince you that your globe-trotting experiences aren’t of interest to a wider audience!
