Spending It
Art of Travel
If you possess an eye for detail, adore exotic locations or simply want to pen a bestseller, then travel writing could be just the thing for you.
Image Credit: This feature was published in May 2005.
Start by reading a new book called Travel Writing. Written by established travel writers from Lonely Planet and packed with advice, this practical guide is a great place to begin. As it says in the blurb: "Being a travel writer is a dream job - with this guide you're scribbling distance from the reality."
At some stage you'll also want to meet and discuss ideas with fellow writers, or talk through your travel plans or story concepts. For this, there are plenty of courses and events that could help.
For starters, have a look in local papers and on library or town hall notice boards for writers groups near you. These meetings are a great forum to discuss ideas and to be inspired by new work.
For something more formal, there are a variety of full or part time courses on travel writing held around the country. For example there is a Saturday morning course at Falmouth College of Arts at Penryn in Cornwall that lasts between two and ten weeks, and one run by City University in London - a ten-week course of evening lectures. Contact your nearest college or university for more information.
If you want inspired travel writing advice without the classroom environment, you could enrol on a course in a more interesting location. Travellers' Tales runs a variety of residential courses for first-time travel writers.
Choose from a weekend master class in London, held in a beautiful riverside pub or in the classical surroundings of the Royal Geographical Society, or a more creative retreat in Cornwall where you can spend a week at the seaside, walking the cliffs or the beaches in your spare time, and seeking inspiration for those creative flashes.
At some stage you'll also want to meet and discuss ideas with fellow writers, or talk through your travel plans or story concepts. For this, there are plenty of courses and events that could help.
For starters, have a look in local papers and on library or town hall notice boards for writers groups near you. These meetings are a great forum to discuss ideas and to be inspired by new work.
For something more formal, there are a variety of full or part time courses on travel writing held around the country. For example there is a Saturday morning course at Falmouth College of Arts at Penryn in Cornwall that lasts between two and ten weeks, and one run by City University in London - a ten-week course of evening lectures. Contact your nearest college or university for more information.
If you want inspired travel writing advice without the classroom environment, you could enrol on a course in a more interesting location. Travellers' Tales runs a variety of residential courses for first-time travel writers.
Choose from a weekend master class in London, held in a beautiful riverside pub or in the classical surroundings of the Royal Geographical Society, or a more creative retreat in Cornwall where you can spend a week at the seaside, walking the cliffs or the beaches in your spare time, and seeking inspiration for those creative flashes.
