Many travel memoir books borrow techniques from fiction. Paul Theroux was one of the first to make extensive use of dialogue in his 1975 bestseller The Great Railway Bazaar. This helped launch the genre of the modern first-person travel narrative. These days travel writing can...
In my workshops people often ask, ‘how much research should I do and should I do it before I travel, or when I get back?’ Some authors spend several years learning the language and reading about the place before going. Others like to know very little...
As a freelance writer who works alone, sometimes I need someone to bounce ideas off. Not necessarily about writing, but about all the things that go with writing: steady income streams (I wish…), career plans, juggling several projects at once. Last year I had some...
It can be a lonely road to the top. This week is a round up of publishing tips. Next post, I’ll focus on how to write a winning proposal. Traditional Publishing This requires a decent proposal sent to an agent or direct to a publisher. If you...
It’s taken me a bit longer to get there, but here are my tips on how to write that outstanding proposal. Firstly, writing and re-writing a proposal can take several months. Whether you pitch to a publisher or an agent, you usually only have one shot,...
A reoccurring theme in my writing workshops among participants is that what they have to say, or want to say, isn’t interesting to other people. How many times have I heard this sort of comment (usually slightly plaintive): ‘I don’t think anyone will care about my...
Whether you write for business or pleasure, whether it’s the odd travel article or a full-length book, it helps to have a community of other writers around you. Sometimes ‘talking shop’ with someone who understands your world can be a lifesaver. A couple of years ago,...
Last week I printed out the not-quite-there-yet manuscript of the book I’m working on. I’ve been trying to get to the end of it for months. I can see the end in my head shining like a beacon at the end of a very long...
How much time do you fritter away on email? How many minutes are lost tweeting, poking, following and linking-in? It’s very easy to start your day and check your messages, and find that two hours have gone, and guess what, you’re still… replying to emails. With...
Recently I’ve been re-reading old journals for one of my book projects. It’s exciting to remember people and events I’ve long forgotten but I wince at some of my banal turns of phrase: ‘the view was breathtaking, the landscape beautiful.’ Yuck! Keeping a travel journal for...