EducationCurriculum and Schedule
Curriculum
This intensive course will review the major forms of commercial and noncommercial travel writing in today’s market, with lectures aimed specifically at helping students to identify the different forms of writing, improve their writing skills, and help develop their own careers in travel writing. The course will focus mostly on the written word, but there will be a guest lecture on the role of photography in travel journalism as well as some discussion of using and improving skills in audio and video.
Schedule
Sunday, July 5
17:00 – 18:00: Arrivals and registration
19:00 – 21:30: Welcome dinner
Monday, July 6
09:30 – 10:45: Overview of ‘Travel Writing’
- Blogs
- Print (newspapers and magazines)
- Online travel pubs (BBC World, Lonely Planet)
- Guidebooks (Fodor’s, Frommer’s, Rick Steves, Rough Guides, Lonely Planet, DK)
- Creative writing
11:00 – 12:30: Understanding the Travel Writing Business
- Major players (magazines, newspapers, publishers, media companies, Google)
- Print vs. Online
- Trends (edited copy vs. ‘crowdsourcing’)
- Pitching and breaking in
14:00-17:00: Reporting and Writing Time
Tuesday, July 7
9:30 – 10:45: The Basics of Good Writing
- Know the reader
- Keep to the right length
- Show don’t tell
- Avoid clichés
- Keep it lively
11:00 – 12:30: Writing for Major Magazines, Newspapers & Websites
- How the process works
- Anatomy of a feature story
- Finding the right voice
- Sidebars, pull quotes, boxes, practical info
- Photos and visual elements
14:00 – 17:00: Reporting and Writing Time
Wednesday, July 8
9:30 – 12:30: Photography and Visual Elements
Guest photography lecture with Jan Rybar (award-winning photojournalist)
14:00 – 17:00: Photography Exercise; Research and Writing Time
Thursday, July 9
9:30 – 10:45: Creative Travel Writing
- Choosing your topic
- Finding your voice
- Elements of good writing
- Forms and outlets
- No-no’s
11:00 – 12:30: Focus On Guidebooks
- What skills do you need
- How the business works/how to get started
- Research in detail
- Write up
- Trends
14:00 – 17:00: Reporting and Writing Time
Friday, July 10
9:30 – 12:30: Individual Editing Sessions
14:00 – 17:00: Individual Editing Sessions
First draft of assignments due.
Saturday, July 11
Preparation of multimedia to accompany articles and present on Monday
Sunday, July 12
Free day
Monday, July 13
09:30 – 12:30: Assignment Review
14:00 – 16:00: Course Wrap-up
19:00 Farewell Dinner
Tuesday, July 14
Departures