Expressing Your Travel Journey...

Photographed by me, Kit Tong

Writing a travel blog is harder than one expects. Ideas may come and go but expressing your idea is the hardest. How does one creatively put a piece together and engage the reader towards your idea? Blogs became a useful tool for writers to express their ideas. Blogs provide better opportunities for anyone to self-express. For travel writers on the other hand, blogs are useful tools to upload travel experiences in real time and give people a feel of having been there with you, to feel like you’re on the holiday itself.

Photographed by me, Kit Tong

BLOGGERS BUBBLE! 

According to the article “want to be a successful travel blogger?” by Christine Gilbert, the main way to be successful is to first get out from ones travel blog bubble. Social media site such as Facebook, Twitter, etc, are useful tools to self promote. But this gives a disadvantaged twist as it leaves some lingering pressures. These pressures will affect a writer’s way of writing, blocking the mind from creating a creative piece of self-expression. These pressures are such as whether or not the writer will get any likes, is anyone reading it or, is it being retweeted. These pressures are what Christine considered under the bloggers bubble. Travel writers trying to self-express their ideas should first be engaged with their own writing before thinking about what the reader thinks. These give a more natural effect opposed to a structured effect. Travel blogs should be written in way where readers feels as if they’re on the adventure themselves.

Photographed by me, Kit Tong

10 THINGS NOT RECOMMENDED TO YOU

These are ten things not recommended to you when working toward achieving your dream as a travel writer.  

1.     Don’t be sloppy!

Writing a travel post on a blog is a form of communication that will definitely be part of your portfolio toward achieving your dream job as a travel writer. Therefore it is important for you to not be sloppy in your aspiring content to therefore allow yourself to be presented in the right light. Remember, first impression matters!

2.     Don’t treat your travel post as a personal diary!

When self-expressing your travel ideas or story, it may be wise to not sound too formal, but that doesn’t mean treating it like a personal diary either. Don’t tell a story about yourself but about the journey you went on. This gives a better value towards the reader. "IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU! IT’S ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY!" So go crazy in telling your journey!

3.     Don’t give empty promises

Posting “Stay tuned for my next big post tomorrow!” is good as it leaves your readers wanting more. However, the twist behind that is you’ve got to deliver that promise. An empty promise kills your audience’s mood and impression about you. It definitely alienates your readers! Treat your readers like editors. If you do not deliver on time, you might have just lost your chance! Lastly, your readers may have just left you for other travel writers! 

4.     Don’t be a jerk!

Staying humble and friendly is the key to connecting with others. This makes a reader feel more welcomed into your life and your travel journeys. Telling your journey is like letting someone into your shoes to feel what you felt during your trip, providing readers useful tips and advice, just like a helping hand for readers or other travelers. Nobody wants to hangout or be associated with a douche bag. The more likable you are towards your reader, the more like you will get from them! 

5.     Don’t stay shallow and general

It is good to find out what your expertise is. Knowing what your strong points are will give you a better idea on what your direction is. Don’t say anything you like or make comment on anything you see. Create a strong area where you’re most comfortable at and built your comments from there.

Photographed by me, Kit Tong

6.     Don’t demand respect but earn it!

Respect is one of the most important skills to have, not just from a travel writer’s point of view, but also as a traveller in general. When travelling, respecting other people’s history, culture, religion and country is essential to have to grasp a perfect understanding about the place you’ve travelled to and learn to adapt better in a foreign country. This reflects in your travel writing. Remember, when you start respecting others, other will respect you!

7.     Don’t be quiet!

There are many travel blogs on the Internet. The truth is most of them are boring. A reader doesn’t want to just know the facts about a place. A reader wants to hear your feelings and emotions about a place or a journey. Be interesting about your travel adventure! Make your reader laugh, excited, passionate or even cry!

8.     Don’t lie

Lying is just a no no in the travel blogging world. Bolstering about yourself by lying to readers just doesn’t cut out in the travel-content community. It’s about the truth about your experience and ideas, not a lie that you searched off the Internet.

9.     Don’t ignore your audience

Your audience is probably the most important factor towards being a successful travel blogger. It is therefore important for you to know who your audience is. To do that, you have to search and know your audience. This is called writing for a target audience. This also helps you find a theme for you blog and allow you to feel more comfortable! Make sure you know whom your creative piece is intended for.

10.   Don’t not try!

Travel writing is not easy. It takes a lot of determination, perseverance and resilience to be successful. It's understood that it is catastrophic to fail. But how does one learn unless one falls? Mistakes and failures help build a better knowledge of what can be done the next attempt to succeed. Never say no and just go for it! If it’s your all time passion, never let “NO” stop you!

Photographed by Kit Tong

OVERCOMING THE WRITER'S BLOCK

Writers tend to over think the outcome of their travel blog post than actually thinking about the good times while travelling itself. Another issue faced by, not just travel writers but all writers. This is called the writers block. Here are four simple steps to ease this burden.

Step 1. Whenever unable to think of what to write, take a deep breath and stop thinking about your travel blog for a while. This therefore helps ease your mind. Once you feel relaxed, go back and try again!

Step 2. Writing should not be forced. Expressions should come out naturally. Just like verbally expressing yourself, the word should come out naturally. It's okay if the words ain’t flowing out. Just take a break! The next thing you know, your story will just flow out! These words however might not make sense at the time. Give it a day and it might just make sense. Just like “jump starting your mind!”

Step 3. Read other people’s travel blogs. This might help gain ideas on which direction your writing should go. It is good to have a fair amount of resources to help gain ideas on your writing. The more ideas and resources, the more equip you are to share your journey!

Step 4. Brainstorming is a good way to spill ideas out of your mind. Brainstorming words that express your trip is a good way to understand your own emotions and feeling regarding your own trip. Don’t just stop after a few words, keep going until you have a full page. While brainstorming, do not look back at what has been written and just move forward. Analyse what has been written after!

If you believe that travel writing is your future, hopefully these tips will help you achieve your dreams! Happy travelling! 

Photographed by me, Kit Tong