Tips for Writing Travel Books
We all want to be transported somewhere else, don’t we? We want to escape the routine of our daily lives and be in a place that sounds and feels like a million miles away! Therefore, when writing travel books it is important that the reader is transported to the place being written about. One way of doing this is to describe the sounds, smells and colours of what you can see – show, don’t tell. This helps the reader to get a real feel for the place described.
Making your story a personal account can really bring a place to life. Write in the first person so the reader gets a real sense that you were there and because of that they will be able to feel like they are there. Use description, incorporating colours, sounds and smells, alongside facts about the place interwoven with your own stories relating to your experiences.
Try to attract the reader’s attention right from the beginning. It is probably best not to describe your dramas with packing or the terrible journey to the airport – begin with something interesting or fun or different that happened, and take it from there.
To enhance your story and make it more real use quotes from people you met. Remember to quote them accurately and identify them correctly. Using direct dialogue can get a point across much better than trying to describe it yourself and generally speaking you could not make up half the things that people say which can add real value and interest to a piece of writing!
The real crux of any book is the idea behind it. So, why are you writing this book? Have you visited somewhere that has not been visited before? Have you followed in the footsteps of another travel writer, but looked at the place from a different angle? Have you followed in the footsteps of a great explorer and relived their journey? The reader will want to understand your motivation for writing this book and so this needs to be put across clearly. Try to get this across early in the piece so that the reader understands the angle and direction of the book. Remember this will be the selling point for publishers also.
Try to be yourself when writing. All too often people try to write in the style of others, possibly because they have been successful or because they admire that particular style of writing. This doesn’t always work and a piece can sound forced or clichéd. Be yourself –think of your writing as if you were telling the story of your travels to your friends. Include all your little ways of telling a story and see how it looks and sounds at the end. You will probably feel much happier about your writing and feel that it reflects ‘you’.
It may seem like a trivial point; however, you do need to be able to write! You need to be able to construct sentences and express your ideas clearly. The reader needs to be able to understand and be interested in what you are writing.
One of the hardest aspects of writing is knowing what to leave out. You need to think about the level of detail required – does the reader really need to know about the shoes you were wearing for the flight between cities or the amount of time it took to get a cup of coffee at the airport?! Keep the piece flowing, avoid bogging the reader down with too much detail.
Don’t be afraid to use your imagination, but remember to be factually accurate. Instinct and intuition are essential elements in creative thought. If you trust your imagination, if you believe in what you are writing, your readers will too.
For proofreading of your travel book manuscript contact:
Words Worth Reading Ltd
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Colchester,
Essex,
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