Interested in learning the skills of travel writing? Want to discover how to travel the world and earn an income from your experiences? Turn your love of exploration and the written word into an exciting new career or rewarding hobby. Courses Direct's Travel Writing course will help get you started!

Travel writing is a specialised branch of freelance writing that can be frustrating and challenging if you don't know how, but remarkably rewarding if you do. Travel writing offers one of the few truly effective and powerful ways of securing personal freedom while maintaining an income stream.

Getting paid to travel seems too good to be true - yet the prospect is very real. Whether it is only to generate a second income or to pay for your holidays, this course will show you how to write travel articles that publishers pay for and readers love to read.

Courses Direct's Travel Writing course will teach you how to research your market, different writing styles, layout and presentation, and various outlets available for travel writers! Plus, as your course is delivered by distance education, there are no timetables to adhere to so your study can fit around your current lifestyle.

• The fundamentals
• Research and planning
• The technical aspects
• Putting it all together - writing, subjects and focal points
• Structuring the travelogue - opening, body and ending
• The total package - presentation, photographs and legalities

The Fundamentals

This module will introduce you to researching the travel writing market and outline what you will need in order to get started. You will also learn how to plan your itinerary, helping to eliminate the guesswork, and examine the possibility of freelancing versus being a staff writer. 

The Technical Aspects

Knowing the basics is important! You will learn about prose structure and developing a unique writing style, how to avoid "purple prose" and tautology. The use of correct punctuation, spelling and dialogue are also discussed. 

Putting it all Together

This module will show you how to write the travelogue and determine its style and subject matter. It will look at how to open paragraphs to capture the audience and hook the reader. Finally, it discusses important techniques on developing a focal point, and maintaining an interesting and entertaining article. 

Structuring the Travelogue

Here you will learn how to use your imagination, provide contrasting examples and make historical references. Learn how to establish the body of your article and be selective about the angle taken. You will also discover the different approaches when writing for a city market, as opposed to writing for a rural readership. Lastly, this module delves into how to create a memorable ending and illustrate your article effectively. 

The Total Package

The key to selling a good article is constructing a total package. Here you will discover the art of presentation and practical factors such as paper, page layout and mailing your work. We show you the importance of captions, maps, drawings and taking photographs, plus we provide information on the legal aspects of publishing and copyright.