I just returned from the Big Island of Hawaii. Before I went, I had a few stories in mind.  I scoped out a few markets. Even wrote a query. Maybe I’ll just pop over, confirm a few things, talk to a few people and voilà, a blue Hawaii travel story and a few bucks. Bonus.

Then the sunshine hit me. Who was I kidding? I’m not going to scribble notes by pretending to care about the square ukulele. Where’s my pen? What was the name of that flower again? And that beach? Was it left or right at the stop sign?

So, if you’re going on a trip and you think, I’ll just write something, no problem, here’s a tip or two or five.

1. Plan ahead. Research. Get clear on ideas. Scope out your potential markets before you go.

2. Focus: Travel. Spas. Hotels. Weirdness? What will it be? Decide.

3. Set up interviews, if you can, prior to getting there to be efficient with time.

4. The best story will undoubtedly be the one you could only hear by being there.

5. Stay longer than six days. Especially if it’s still raining in Vancouver.

Post and photo by Gayle Mavor (TWS 2012). Find more of her work at http://www.gaylemavor.com.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 13th, 2012 at 1:00 pm and is filed under TWS students & alumni, research, travel writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.