There are only two things you must do to become a good travel writer (besides travel! <g>):

• Study travel articles, paragraph by paragraph, and pay attention to the structure and what makes it work.
• Write your own travel pieces. Keep practicing.

What do travel editors want? No matter what the type of publication, editors want articles that attract and keep readers, articles that will entice people to buy, perhaps even order a subscription. The ingredients of a memorable travel piece include:

• Accurate portrayal of place containing vivid detail, anecdotes about people and events, and experiences felt by the writer, that are tied together with a smattering of history and geography.
• Description that is alive, engaging many of the senses.
• Structure and word choice that stimulates curiosity on the part of the reader.
• Facts that ground the reader with a sense of time and place.
• All of the above accomplished with simple construction in the active voice, and carried by powerful verbs and specific nouns.
• That the travel information be reliable—complete accuracy in places, names and quotes.

Slant is the means of ensuring that your article is suited for the intended readership. Bird watching for seniors will contain different information than bird watching for rock climbers. Your general information will need slanted specifics to appeal to a targeted reader. First make yourself familiar with the readers' special interest then write with that in mind.

You should be able to express the idea behind your article in a single sentence. What is your message? What do you want the reader to take away from your piece?

If this capsule sentence appears in your article, it will be early on in the story. It doesn't always need to appear just as you have it in your head, but it will come into the story in some form just after the lead. I include it here, because it should be foremost in your mind before you begin your draft. It helps you determine which pieces of your notes are critical to this article. The story line becomes the spine of your article, to which all other details will connect. It keeps the piece from rambling.

The lead is critical to your piece. Ask questions, state facts, use gimmicks, anecdotes or description. Strive for universal appeal that arouses curiosity about what follows. Be bold. The more original your lead is, the greater your chances are for success. The lead generally sells the story.

While the lead comes first in your piece, it doesn't necessarily get written first. Some writers get nowhere until they establish a firm lead. However, most writers benefit from just getting started, and will end up finding the material for the lead as the article develops.

Generally speaking, your lead will likely be a sentence or two that stand out as the essence of your experience or that condenses many impressions into a nutshell. It should be short and captivating.

One hint if you have trouble with your lead: Remember that story line that influences the article from beginning to end? If you've kept it in mind, the lead is usually tied in some way to the end. If you've written a draft that has a satisfying conclusion, examine the conclusion for cues to constructing the lead.

This segment of your article will take your reader in the specific direction the article is headed. The lead sometimes takes care of this, but not always. Most of the time your story line sentence will serve as the capsule. It should come right after the lead.

Manipulating the capsule influences the length of your article. If you need a longer article, broaden the scope of your capsule. (Florida has many beauty spots.) For a shorter article, narrow the scope. (For New Englanders, the Florida Keys make a great December getaway.)

Early on, the reader needs a good sense of time and place. This will include a panorama of the landscape and details to help the reader understand the environment, location, time frame and mood.

From this point the structure is going to depend a great deal on your style and the purpose of your writing. It is important to keep your story line and slant in mind as you choose details to tell your story. Remember that you are aiming to tell a story, not just reprocess facts. Therefore you will choose visual detail and anecdotes that define your experience and then weave in the crucial facts your readers want.

Perhaps the best way to understand the structure of travel pieces is to imagine a filming crew. The director will try to balance close-ups with long shots, going from broad view to details and back again. In the travel article, close-ups convey mood, tempo, smell, sound, and physical description that build on the story lead, but make it more personal. Visuals should richly define your experience and allow the reader to share in that. Close-ups can also plant clues about what follows.

Long shots will pull back, providing broader descriptions of history, geography and other factual details. They provide backdrop and will sometimes even suggest side trips.

The best way to understand how to use these techniques and how do switch between them so that the story does not seem to bounce from scene to scene is to study published articles. Pull the piece apart paragraph by paragraph and note whether the writing is tight and close to the subject, or pulled back to give a broad view. Determine how facts and experiences are woven together. Writing your first few articles following the same structure until you get a good feel of how a travel piece is put together.

The conclusion must be satisfying to the reader. It should provide emotional or visual closure and answer any questions raised within the article.

When you've finished a good draft, put it away for a week to gain some distance. Then try these revision ideas:

• Read your piece aloud. Listen for your voice.
• Mark all verbs. Are they action verbs?
• Highlight the adjectives. Are they specific or bland? Can you do without them or reword to eliminate them?
• Look for boring paragraphs. Boring writing lacks surprise. Sentence rhythm is monotonous and the words are predictable.
• Weigh your words. Are they strong? Necessary? Can more specific words carry the thought better?
• Check your facts. Then check them again.