I came across a mine of information recently and it impressed me sufficiently to give it some space here. I attended the spring gathering of the Society of Women Writers & Journalists. It was a pleasant occasion and a prizegiving for three of their recent competitions, but there was also a speaker: Solange Hando, a lady whose travel writing has graced the pages of a wide range of magazines for many years. No one listening would have had any doubt of her enthusiasm for her chosen field of writing. She made both the life it gave her and the process of actually writing and submitting work seem highly attractive. This was well illustrated by her stories of incidents along the way, from minor ones – a small diversion to visit a leper colony in Vietnam – to her being invited to attend the coronation of the King of Bhutan. She also mentioned (as you do and should!) her book, Be a travel writer, live your dreams, sell your features, and I subsequently read it and am pleased to draw it to the attention of readers of this column.
We have probably all read ‘how-to-write’ books of one sort or another; some are good, some are less good. This is simply excellent. The advice it gives: write for a market, find the right angle, get the detail right, use your senses and more is practical, sound, proven and no-nonsense. That is useful enough, but it is the way it is written that makes the book special. Upbeat seems the right word to describe the style and yet it is inadequate at the same time. Whether she is addressing planning what you do (and the book is half way through before she allows the reader to think about actually writing anything) or creating ideas, finding the right hook and tailoring a piece to a particular market, she makes the task sound sensible, possible and fun. She tackles a wide range of topics taking in everything from taking and submitting photographs to taking advantage of the many inspection visits that take place each year and much more. The way she works on a writing trip, maximising every moment and every opportunity, is an object lesson.