HOW TO WRITE A "SENSE OF PLACE" WITHOUT CLICHES

A week ago at the Travel Blog Exchange convention (TBEX 11) in Vancouver, delegates learned from a panel of the top travel writers about how to avoid amateurish writing. They can smell a newbie's article from 100 yards!

Tour guide in Seattle

These writers and editors all have their pet peeves, but I found their advice on achieving a sense of place about a destination to be the most valuable they gave all weekend.

• Research the destination before you set out -- find out everything you can about its history, culture, people, famous sons and daughters, etc., etc.
• Use your contacts to discover what they experienced when they visited the same place.
• Interview locals on arrival. Quote them.
• Slow down so you can watch and listen. If you rush the visit, you'll miss the atmosphere and flavour of the place.
• Take note of and use the small details you see, smell, and hear.
• Avoid following the guidebook.
• Consider your choice of adjectives very carefully.
• Avoid alliteration, common metaphors, and too many foreign phrases.

The final keeper: Above all tell the truth about what you found in the destination. If you write an enthusiastic piece full of "charming" "quaint" or "rustic" adjectives, you will come across as naive, rather than a seasoned traveller.

Photo: (c) Julie H. Ferguson 2011

SOME FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF TBEX 2011

(taken with my Android phone with no flash: see below)

 Travel writing has come to me lately! TBEX 11 was my first conference on the subject and surprised me. Here's why:

• Most attendees were under 40 years old. I estimate less than 5% were over 60, despite the boomers travelling so much these days. 
• If you didn't have a smartphone or didn't know how to use yours, you were out of the loop from the get-go. Everything was done electronically.
• I've never seen so many iPads in one place!
• Everyone was friendly and helpful -- both presenters and participants. 
• Presenters included the top writers for Lonely Planet, National Geographic Traveller, Boots 'n All, Gadling, and the top newspaper travel eds too. Most were under 40 and work obsessively. 
• If you don't offer good images, you won't get a look in as an emerging travel writer. 
• The session on iPhonography was worth the conference fee to me. Images from these devices are plenty good enough for online articles and blog posts. I also learned many tricks for smartphone photography that I had no idea about, and the best apps to make my smartphone images stand out from the crowd.
• Videos are encouraged as added value for articles and, indeed, there was a breakout on just this topic. 

I came away with assignments for articles, invitations to query some of the top travel sites, and contacts in PR firms as well as discovering that AmEx wants travel bloggers and writers. Magic!

Soon I will write up the details that I learned ...

QUESTION:  What were your take-aways?

IMAGE: (c) Julie H. Ferguson 2011

Related articles

• Top tips for TBEX and other writers' conferences: What I've learned from 20 years of success stories at Book Passage (gadling.com)
• How To Make the Best of Travel Writing Conferences and Trade Shows (bootsnall.com)

TRAVEL BLOG EXCHANGE 2011 (TBEX 11)

This weekend I'm attending TBEX 11 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Hundreds of travel bloggers, travel professionals, and PR companies are coming to the conference from around the world.

It's my first TBEX conference and I'm excited. I'll be tweeting during the event and later posting the keepers here.

If you're a freelance travel writer, I'm hoping to meet you there ...