Travel Writing

Travel Writing

1.            Brainstorm a list of events and/or personal experiences that might make a fun piece of travel writing.

2.            Take 5 minutes to share your lists with your peers.

3.            Select one event from your list and write down, using free writing   and brainstorming techniques, everything you can about it during the remainder of the session.

4.            Use the Elements of Good Travel Writing below to identify any characteristics that are not present in your work or that need to be strengthened.

5.            Rework your ideas into a draft, making sure specific sections of their writings focus on the key elements:

·      
Try for a clever attention grabber (this may be the last or most challenging part).


·      Give enough background information to set the context: Where were you? Why were you there? Why was this event important? 


·      Clearly describe the setting. Use details that appeal to multiple senses. 


·      Clearly describe an important person (alternately, an animal or thing) in the story. Make sure that your reader will understand who the key people are in the article. 


·      Look for places where you can add dialogue. If the event happened a long time ago, dialogue does not have to be direct quotations. Focus on the general comments and feelings in their dialogues. 


·      Mix in personal reflections with the telling of the story.

6.            Bring a completed draft of their travel article to the next class session for peer review.

Elements of Good Travel Writing

Travel writing

• centers on a key event.

• uses background information that builds up  to this event.

•may incorporate research to enhance the background information— even if the writer didn’t know the information things at the time of the trip.

• clearly describes the location and focuses on elements that are key to the story or experience.

• clearly describes any important people so that readers feel as if they know them a little.

• uses dialogue where possible to help the story“ happen” for the reader .

•mixes reflections on the experience with the retelling to help the reader see the importance of the experience.