Travel Diaries
PROGRAM: “IN A WORD”
EPISODE: TRAVEL DIARIES
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
[FADE MUSIC]
I’m Candace Hastings with “In a Word,” your weekly communication tip.
A friend of mine is currently traveling in Australia and she’s treating me and a few other select readers to a daily email reflecting on her travels, so we get to experience the trip as she does. My friend is a good writer and her daily missives are interesting, so I look forward to each installment. As a plus, these emails will give her a wonderful record of her journey for years to come.
Keeping a travel diary is a great way to entertain your friends and family and create a memorable record a special trip. To make your diary something worth reading, focus on the details. What would others want to know about? Is it the food? If so, describe the food stalls where you discovered five types of dumplings or the restaurant offering kangaroo-meat pies. Just write a few sentences describing what you ate, where you ate it, and how you reacted to it.
Another great topic is the people you meet along the way. For example, my friend described the funny old cobbler she met on a bench outside a coffee shop—a real character with local stories to share.
Then there are the places you visit. Try to relate one or two interesting facts about the place or something striking you saw there. You might also give readers a sense of how you move from one place to another, especially if it’s a bit out-of-the-ordinary, like a tram, a ferry, or a scenic mountain highway.
Finally, don’t leave out stories of the inevitable travel mishaps. Language differences can make for great travel stories—did you ask for a bath, when you really wanted a restroom? Even small incidents, like the time the strong wind pushed your wheeled suitcase down the street, can be worth telling.
If you know friends may want to visit the same place, add your ratings, warnings, and recommendations.
And don’t forget to write to yourself, too.
If you think your interests are too idiosyncratic, like musings on your thoughts while visiting a garden, then write one version of the entry for yourself, and edit it down for other readers. Whether you write emails, fill up a leather-bound travel diary, or make notes on postcards, documenting your journey will mean you—and your readers—can reflect on it for years to come.
This has been “In a Word,” a program made possible by the Texas A&M University Writing Center and a production of KAMU FM on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station. For more writing and speaking tips, visit our website at writingcenter.tamu.edu. I’m Candace Hastings, helping you make every word count.
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
EPISODE: TRAVEL DIARIES
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]
[FADE MUSIC]
I’m Candace Hastings with “In a Word,” your weekly communication tip.
A friend of mine is currently traveling in Australia and she’s treating me and a few other select readers to a daily email reflecting on her travels, so we get to experience the trip as she does. My friend is a good writer and her daily missives are interesting, so I look forward to each installment. As a plus, these emails will give her a wonderful record of her journey for years to come.
Keeping a travel diary is a great way to entertain your friends and family and create a memorable record a special trip. To make your diary something worth reading, focus on the details. What would others want to know about? Is it the food? If so, describe the food stalls where you discovered five types of dumplings or the restaurant offering kangaroo-meat pies. Just write a few sentences describing what you ate, where you ate it, and how you reacted to it.
Another great topic is the people you meet along the way. For example, my friend described the funny old cobbler she met on a bench outside a coffee shop—a real character with local stories to share.
Then there are the places you visit. Try to relate one or two interesting facts about the place or something striking you saw there. You might also give readers a sense of how you move from one place to another, especially if it’s a bit out-of-the-ordinary, like a tram, a ferry, or a scenic mountain highway.
Finally, don’t leave out stories of the inevitable travel mishaps. Language differences can make for great travel stories—did you ask for a bath, when you really wanted a restroom? Even small incidents, like the time the strong wind pushed your wheeled suitcase down the street, can be worth telling.
If you know friends may want to visit the same place, add your ratings, warnings, and recommendations.
And don’t forget to write to yourself, too.
If you think your interests are too idiosyncratic, like musings on your thoughts while visiting a garden, then write one version of the entry for yourself, and edit it down for other readers. Whether you write emails, fill up a leather-bound travel diary, or make notes on postcards, documenting your journey will mean you—and your readers—can reflect on it for years to come.
This has been “In a Word,” a program made possible by the Texas A&M University Writing Center and a production of KAMU FM on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station. For more writing and speaking tips, visit our website at writingcenter.tamu.edu. I’m Candace Hastings, helping you make every word count.
[5 TO 10 SEC OF MUSIC]