THE CHATTER BOX

help me by David Rennie on 2 January 2004 8:02pm

Hello my name is David Rennie I AM thirteen and come from Aberdeen (iucky me)it is my ambition(enspired by a mr Palin)to become a travel author .At the moment i only have my journels of holidays,any advice?
all the best

Re: help me by Sophie-Louise on 2 January 2004 8:52pm

hiya!

welcome to the site! Michael has inspired me to write as well. Why not start writing articles for your school newsletter, or even ask your local newspaper or magazine if there is one. Then when you are a bit more confident with your writing try sending your work to a proper travel or geography magazine. This is what i did and it did work.

When i was in years 10 and 11 at school i used to write to this magazine:

http://www.philipallan.co.uk/system/index.html

When you get to this site, press where it says 'Geography',then press 'wideworld GCSE geography review'.

even if you are only 13 and the magazine is for 14-16 year olds, you are never too young to get this magazine. it's so interesting if you are interested in travel and Geography and you can write to the magazine about your holidays, travels and things that interest you.

Hope this helps,

Sophie-Lou

Re: help me by kidjuxta on 2 January 2004 8:55pm

Hey David.

I'm Steve, 23, from East Yorkshire and i run a website that mainly revolves around reviews of music, movies and books but i am interested in setting-up another section of my website for people like yourself to submit their travel journals and stories.

If you would like me consider using your stuff you can e-mail it to me at [email protected] if you wish and i shall have a read.

Likewise, i'd love to become a travel author. It seems the perfect 'job'/ lifestyle... travelling the world and getting paid to do it!!

My website by the way, if you would like to have a look, is at www.kidjuxta.tk

Steve.

Re: help me by Sophie-Louise on 2 January 2004 9:23pm

Great site Steve, enjoyed looking at it, i have email you about the travel part by the way!

Sophie-Lou

Re: help me by Godfather on 2 January 2004 11:51pm

Hi David,

All my travels are in my head because i'm too lazy to write them down. So it's good if you posess the enthusiasm to write them down from the start. I would just suggest that you remain real to what happened, and tell any trip "how it was". Not what people would "like" to hear (something some travel writers are guilty of). What actually happened and what you felt, seems more appealing to most people. Much better than ommisions about those instances when you were bored out of your mind on a bus to somewhere. They may seem like uninteresting elements in the journey to the person writing the story. But for readers,they want to know everything we went through. Honesty is the most appealing thing i would say. I've not read "Bill Brysons's" books, but people who have tell me that they love to hear about his own opinions and his honesty regarding what he's seeing and experiencing. Some travel writers are afraid of writing down their personal opinions and even prejudices abotu things, for fear of alientating readers. But those kind of stories can only be the most interesting to read. That's why i like Michaels travel series. He's honest and tells you when he's bored or frustrated. The "honest and authentic" travel writer is rare. If you can be honest, and tell us your opinions about the people you meet,the places you see,then i'd certainly be a reader of your books. :)

Reply to this post:

INSTRUCTIONS

Select a discussion theme.
Register (or log in if you have not yet done so).

To start a new discussion topic:

Write the name of the topic in the 'Subject' box.
Type your message in the larger box to contribute.
Click 'Submit'.

To join a discussion topic:

Click on the discussion topic of your choice.
Type your message in the larger box to contribute.
Click 'Submit'.

To edit your message:

You can edit a message at any time after posting it as long as you're signed in.
Click on the 'Edit your message' link above the message.
Make your desired changes.
Click 'Submit'.

If you find you don't want to change the message after all, click on 'Return without changes'.

To set a chatmark:

Register (or log in if you have not yet done so).
Click on the "Set chatmark" link on the Chatter Box pages. This will set the time at which you have logged in.
Click on the "Go to chatmark" link to see all messages posted since you set your chatmark.

You can set your chatmark at any time and as often as you like.