Just What Makes The Best Travel Writing Work? Analysing Top Writer Techniques

Before one can be a great travel writer, one must learn to be a great travel reader. To read voraciously and linger over the words; relish, absorb and reflect on what it is that makes great travel writing work. Found a travel article that you love? Analyse its effect – a strong feeling, a vivid image – and then pinpoint how the writer achieved it.

By examining the techniques employed in the best travel prose, aspiring travel writers can acquire new skills and help attune their own ear to the rhythms and melodies of good writing. To illustrate the many benefits of studying others’ work, we have deconstructed a selection of praiseworthy travel writing passages. Scroll down to read on.

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How to Avoid Writer’s Block And Keep Your Travel Content Writing Flowing

Content, content, content. Quality travel content is in hot demand. Google is constantly on the hunt for it and so too are social media users. But how can you generate quality content day after day, week after week, month after month? When faced with a blank screen and — even worse — a blank mind, the prospect can be a little daunting.

What will I write about now? What will resonate with readers? As professional travel writers, these are questions we ask ourselves regularly. Letting the idea bank run dry is simply not an option. Nor is waiting for creativity to strike because, as any writer will attest, inspiration is nothing if not tardy.

Fortunately, there are ways and means of keeping content flowing and combating the dreaded content drought. Drawing on the broad experiences of our expert travel writers at World Words, we’ve come up with six tried-and-tested techniques that will help you generate fresh and engaging content ideas. Wave writer’s block goodbye…

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12 Tacky Travel Writing Clichés to Avoid

Every writer and editor has their personal peccadilloes about overused travel writing terms such as ‘off the beaten path’ or ‘sun-drenched’, but individual qualms shouldn’t mean a blanket ban on these phrases. These may all be overused clichés, but sometimes — to borrow another particularly well-worn cliché — they hit the nail on the head.

However, there are some words and formulaic travel phrases that are so overused, they are positively exhausted. Many of them are churned out so regularly in travel writing that they have lost all meaning, and no longer register with readers. And yet, thanks to writerly laziness, these hackneyed phrases keep on cropping up again and again.

We have named and shamed 12 of the worst offenders below; our very own dirty dozen of travel writing clichés.

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Not a quaff

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Luxe Magazine: Panama Travel Article

When you think of Panama, you might think of canals, hats and the fabled Darien Gap. But what you might not think of is just how stunning and traveller-friendly this country is, which is why we enjoyed writing about it so much in this article for Luxe Magazine.

Panama proved a fascinating topic to cover, from its slick modern skyscrapers to secluded tropical beaches. Such diversity characterises the small country, which offers heritage sites, angling in fish-crammed lakes and a broad array of museums. You could choose Panama if you wanted an adventure holiday, a city break, a lazy week by the ocean – or even a bit of all three.

Clearly, there is never a shortage of things to see and do in Panama, so this travel article for Luxe Magazine filled up quickly with fascinating facts and recommendations to make the most of any holiday there. Scroll down to read an excerpt from the piece, where you can learn more about the country, including the curious origin of its name.

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