Sharing Travel Experiences

How to Write a Better Travel Journal

by Andy Hayes

Recently, we launched our recommended travel journals page in our special offers section. It’s been one of our more popular offers ever since, so it sounds like there are some budding travel journalists out there. But the question I get a lot is how to writer a better journal?

It’s a great question. After all, if travel more is about opening yourself up to the whole travel experience, how does burying your nose in a journal help that out? Well, Dave Fox has some fantastic recommendations in his new book, Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals. Here are some of his tips.

Write More by Writing Less

One of the tips on how to write a better journal that run throughout this book is that you don’t need to write so much. How many people do you know (yourself included) who had all the good intentions of journalling their last travel adventure, only to have ran out of steam on page two?

It’s the obvious problem – on vacation, time is at a premium – either you’re out doing stuff, or you’re inside doing stuff, or you’re asleep! Who has the time to write it all down? Well, Dave’s tips are very practical, including two very good ones:

• it’s a travel journal, not a handwriting contest
• summarise, don’t transcribe

I think the point is that you’re trying to get down the details to help you relive that memory when you get home. That is different than trying to vacuum up every little detail and get it down on paper.

Get Creative

Throughout Globejotting Dave includes lessons, called the flight simulator, where you can try out and practice some of his tips. I think this is a great way to get a good feel for things (if for no other reason than to avoid having to bring Globejotting with you as a reference guide in your luggage). I encourage you to try these out once you get your copy, because they’ll help you identify with which of the creative techniques Dave explains will help you know how to write a better journal that fits your own writing style.

• What if little drawings on the page help you complete that special memory, better than just more words?
• What if you like to write sideways?
• Does your journal have a theme?
• How about group-sourcing the journal with your travel companion(s)?

See, there are lots of ways to make writing a travel journal fun and exciting, not just one extra task to complete after brushing your teeth.

How to Get Your Copy

I loved Globejotting. It’s fresh, snappy, and actually quite funny. Sort of like a good travel journal!

So, are you ready to learn all the secrets on how to write a better journal? You can grab a copy of Dave’s book today, available at Amazon. Get it soon, so you can learn those tips before you leave on your next travel journey! And while you’re at it, why not pick up one of our recommended travel journals so you can practice all your new journalling tricks?

Editorial Disclosure: The author was given a review copy of this guide, which did not influence the contents  of this article.