Comments on: Are You a Victim of Travel Writer’s Catch-22?

By: Neglect in a Time of Note-Worthy Experiences – nomadderwhere

Neglect in a Time of Note-Worthy Experiences – nomadderwhere — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:30:11 +0000

[...] read others discussing this interesting phenomenon – the travel writer’s Catch 22 – and I know I’ve dealt with it using various methods in the past. Even though [...]

By: Nina

Nina — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 05:30:52 +0000

Big fan of your writing. I have read all your articles on Vagabondish and love it:)

By: Todd

Todd — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 01:01:01 +0000

Nice article. I can relate. Writing flows much easier when traveling through places like Asia and India than Europe or America. I struggle at home to come up with a decent topic for my blog if anything at all. On the road, in an exotic land, I can belt out an interesting article and post it with photos in less than an hour. Inspiration, motivation, and boundless amounts of energy come easy when I’m out and about but when I get home it mysteriously vanishes…..

By: TomS

TomS — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:39:32 +0000

Interesting stuff Turner. Liked it!

I think that we just can’t travel or move all the time. Or at least I can’t. It’s good to take some time out every now and then even during a trip. A change, a rest, call it what you will but taking time out to write up some notes is also a time to rest up, contemplate, gain perspective, that kind of thing.

I agree with some of the other comments. If writing about your travels is how you make a living then it’s just tough, I guess. You have to get on and do it. This is the danger of turning something you love into a career/work. Still, it must be better than the 9-5 gig.

Keep at it, I say!

By: Byteful Traveller

Byteful Traveller — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:04:13 +0000

I can see your struggle because I’ve been there. It seems to break down into two things:

How to best manage your time between travelling and writing?
and
How do you stay original when talking a well-trodden path?

I dealt with the first question last year in my article Travel Writers Need Time to Reflect, too. in which I discussed how a writer is always alternating between “taking off” and “touching down”.

As for the second question, I wouldn’t worry about it. As long as you’re writing about what excites YOU about where you’re going, then you’re providing your unique perspective. In the beginning, I worried about this at times, but as I’ve written about more places and I’ve visited, I’ve gotten better at giving an old place a new spin.

By: pam

pam — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:28:14 +0000

I dunno. If you’re working as a travel writer, then you’ve made an active choice to work while traveling. It’s part of the job and yeah, you’re going to have to sacrifice some free time to get work done. Folks still seem surprised to learn that travel writing is work.

I love to write. LOVE it. So it’s not a sacrifice to find myself somewhere with a keyboard. But I also say no to guidebook-type work, the kind of stuff that requires you to rush everywhere “seeing everything, experiencing nothing” as a friend once said in reference to the travel writer’s curse.

I also find that sitting down to write helps me clear my head so I’m ready to take on whatever adventure is next. The benefits of sitting down to write rather than rushing off to see something that I’m just not going to be able to squeeze in on a trip.

Chilling about not trying to do/see everything and going with the joy I get from writing seems to allay any potential frustration. I know that sounds lamely sunshiny, what about the elephant trek — or whatever you passed up to sit and write? But if writing is part of the excitement of travel, then it’s not a compromise it’s just part of the experience.

By: Consume & Update: Greenland, Snobs and Facebook | nomadderwhere

Consume & Update: Greenland, Snobs and Facebook | nomadderwhere — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:05:43 +0000

[...] writing style and article topics, which is why it didn’t come as shock to me when the new Vagabondish article I really enjoyed was written by non other than…that [...]

By: Austin Beeman

Austin Beeman — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:40:43 +0000

Bethany is right. It helps if you look at this as work. :gasp: I know that’s a dirty word when traveling, but if we think about having to ‘work’ 2 days per week, we’ll buckle down and do it. Plus it is still a better life that the 40+ hour cubicle life.

By: kim

kim — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:48:59 +0000

I need to master the art of taking notes and more pictures. Fortunately my trips are of shorter duration than long term travelers so I get the chance to get home and write up then. But as with everything in life – it is a balance. Writing up your posts gives you time to reflect and remember your experiences. They can very easily just roll into one mangled mismatch of (good) memories.
For twitter – I use an sms service that works really well (although it doesn’t allow me to read other tweets). I can send a text in 2 mins and update my folloers.

By: Aracely of TwoBackpackers

Aracely of TwoBackpackers — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:16:34 +0000

We really have to get better at note taking. We’ve been on the road for 6 months and have been on sooo many tours and information sessions but just recently started being consistent about carrying a notepad and pen…now we just have to remember to use it. Great article, thanks for posting.