Writing travel articles is a challenging prospect. If it was easier we’d all be doing it, although it could be said many people already are doing it with little to no idea of how the process works! Let’s say for example you want to write a piece about a city. It makes sense to have some kind of plan to work with otherwise you will end up with a poorly constructed article that doesn’t grab the attention of the audience you are aiming at.
So let’s focus on a few points to remember when writing about a particular city.
Do your research
What are the highlights of the city you want to write about? If you have visited it on your own you should have a head start here. Indeed you could say this is the only true way to write good travel articles – to visit the destination first. However if you want to write about a place you haven’t seen with your own eyes you should at least do lots of research on the internet first. Make sure you verify all your facts in case someone else has got theirs wrong, though.
Plan in advance
Don’t just start writing – formulate a plan first. Which areas of the city are you going to write about? Will it be a general piece or do you want to focus on choosing three or four highlights and writing a paragraph or two on each? Alternatively you could think about writing travel articles for a particular audience – after all everyone finds different reasons to visit a particular city. History buffs visit to find out more about the past; theatre buffs may want to visit a show or two; and those with children want family friendly areas to visit. There are lots of possibilities here.
Find a way to write it effectively
There are lots of ways to write travel articles. However you should avoid clichés at all costs if you can and try and find new and innovative ways of describing things. With that said, really the best way to write is often to simply get down what comes to mind so you can start developing the piece as you go along. You can then go back over it and edit as much as is needed. It is far easier to do this than to sit and stare at a blank screen wondering how to describe one particular thing.
So you can see there are lots of things to bear in mind as you focus on writing travel based articles about a city. Indeed these rules really apply to many other types of pieces too. The more familiar you become with them, the easier it is to write more in future – you may even find you can make a career in writing these articles.