A seasonal shift is underway here in the Pacific Northwest, bringing cooler temperatures, cloudy skies and colorful foliage. Soon, soon enough, I’ll begin the steady retreat into silence and solitude to dream, write and reflect on my travels over the past year. But first, I have a writer’s conference to attend . . .
An annual three-day, sell-out event set in the waterfront community of Edmonds, Washington, Write on the Sound Writers Conference attracts aspiring to best-selling authors. Writing workshops cover the genres of fiction, non-fiction and poetry alongside presentations on marketing and social media strategies for the business side of writing.
Here are just a few of the gems I picked up at this year’s conference earlier this month to help me hone my writer’s craft:
From travel guru, Rick Steves, who lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, on Travel Writing . . .
“You need to be a keen observer and have a basis from which to make observations. Your writing smells thin when you don’t really know the culture you’re writing about.” Action step: Do my homework before I travel. Learn as much as I can ahead of time to inform my writing.
“You’re a lint brush when you’re out in the field. Every night with good discipline you go back to the hotel and type it up, even if it keeps you up past your bedtime.” Action step: No excuses. Write up my notes, download and categorize my photos each night when I’m on the road.
“There’s a spiritual dimension to travel and it’s important not to shy away from that. Your readers should know who you are. You can write in a respectful way about spiritual issues.” Action step: Be authentic. Remember to share my stories in my own unique voice.
“There is a dumbing downess [in travel writing]. I try to smarten up and engage my readers. As travel writers, we have an obligation to inspire people to be moved and changed from their travels.” Action step: Always keep my readers’ needs in mind when I write. Respect their intelligence.
“My mantra is ‘Content is King.’” Action step: Forget the fluff. Add substance that will change readers’ lives.
From Bharti Kirchner, author of five novels, several cookbooks and scores of short pieces, on How to Add Sizzle to Your Fiction and Memoir . . .
“Writing about cuisine adds to the description and is tied to culture. How people prepare, store and serve food is cultural. For example, in India there are definite rules about who eats with whom, and older people and children are always served first. Banana leaves are typically used so there’s no need for recycling.” Action step: Bring in cultural references through my food writing.
“You can get away with using adjectives in food writing. It’s sensuous, vivid and makes your writing more accessible to the reader.” Action step: Remember to engage the senses to make my writing more vivid and lively.
“Food writing shows the emotional climate and complexity of a character, e.g. How are they eating? Absentmindfully? Mindfully? What and how do they order? What do they like to cook?” Action step: Pay attention. Become a keen observer. (Gee – Where have I heard that before?)
From Bernadette Pajer, author of the Professor Bradshaw Mysteries, on Trigger Writing . . .
“Trigger writing is the relationship between words and what they fire in the mind of the reader. Readers bring emotional memory to your writing. You can trust that your audience will feel it which helps avoid over-writing. For example, the word ‘dumpster’ sets a scene. It grounds the reader in an image and a smell without need of further description.” Action step: Use descriptive words to show, not tell.
“After triggers, readers want the writing to slow down so that they see it unfold.” Action step: pace my writing.
“Story trumps everything else because the situations the writer has put the reader in have triggered something, i.e. a memory or strong feeling. The reason you’re a writer is because you have a story to tell. If you felt strongly about someone or a situation, someone else will, too.” Action step: Cultivate my travel stories.
What about you, Wanderboomers? What travel writing tips do you have to share with us here as a reader and/or a writer?
Thanks for sharing these tips Nancy, Lots of good strategies here!
Happy to help, Louise! Glad you found the tips useful ~
Great tips. I love how you laid it out with action steps.
Thanks, Carolin! Now it’s just a matter of doing what I will say I will do :-). Thanks for stopping by ~
Good tips! I especially like the action steps based on the advice given. Thanks for sharing:)
You’re welcome, Kim! Yes, I need all the help I can get so identifying action steps from the advice the presenters’ offered means I have a good chance of following through :-). Thanks for commenting ~
Wonderful post Nancy. I enjoyed reading it thoroughly. I do believe content is king, but especially for those budding writers out there, it’s important to use those social media sites to further expand your circle. That’d be my tip! But I guess that’s more of a ‘getting your writing out there’ tip than actual writing. 🙂
Thanks, Joslin! You’re right, of course, about social media. So much for us to learn, not only about writing, but about getting readers to read our writing. I appreciate your comments ~
Great post, Nancy. Thanks for sharing your insights from the workshop. I am tutoring a travel writing course at the UK Writers’ College and these are some useful ideas to convey to my students – as well as good reminders for me.
You’re welcome, Donna. They’re good reminders for me as well. Thanks for your comments ~
Brilliant advice from some brillant writers. Thanks for consolidating into helpful hints. Your many hours were effectively turned into tips for us which only took minutes to read. This post is a valuable time-saver!
Many thanks for your comments, Jill. I know it helps me to summarize the tips I receive after attending a writers’ conference so I’m happy to know it resonated with readers and fellow writers like yourself as well!
Sounds like a fabulous conference Nancy. Wish I lived just a little bit closer! I especially enjoyed Rick Steves tips and the action steps that you provided.
Thanks, Sue. Rick Steves has definitely earned his stripes as a travel writer & I’m lucky to have such a quality annual writers’ conference close by.
Excellent article! I think writing each night after a day of activities is a great habit to keep notes fresh in your mind. I try, but sleep usually wins the battle.
Thanks, Mary Ann. I know what you mean about the need for sleep. I’m an early-to-bed, early-to-rise kind of gal myself so staying up late to write up my day’s notes is a real challenge!
Great post, Nancy. As I sit down to write stories and blog posts about a summer’s worth of travel experiences, these will be very important. Always good to get reminders, no matter how experienced we are!
Many thanks, Linda! I know I can always use the writing reminders myself. I appreciate your stopping by ~
Thank your for generously sharing such excellent editing and writing concepts.
I embrace this teaching!
You’re welcome, Christine! I’m happy to share any tips I pick up to enhance the quality of travel writing in the marketplace.