"Train yourself to look deliberately, and the mysteries of your taste and eye will become clearer to you" - Jerry Saltz, How to Be an Artist
Welcome to Episode #154:
Today I share some travel writing tools and tips that have helped me navigate the travel journey. These are not hard and fast rules but thoughts, perspectives and experiences that have paved the way for me over the numerous journeys. Over time I have discovered what works for me and today I share those details. And yes, it is all about the details…
Travel writing is about being open to the possibilities, aware and available to the world around you. Discomfort is to be expected not alleviated. Park your phone in your pocket, watch the world, look closely, listen, don’t get distracted by the pinging in your pocket but see things with a new perceptive. Stay alive to the personalities around you. Listen, look and love on the glorious details, every detail is your friend. Marvel at the mysteries in the world. Keep your senses tuned to everything, the time of the day, the weather, the mood, the anxiety, the liberation of travel, the people you meet, the strange things people say. All is fodder for your travel journey and in turn, your travel diary. Stay awake and tune in.
Shownotes:
Books Sited in this Podcast:
The Colossus of Maroussi by Henry Miller
Hemingway Adventure by Michael Palin
Torregreca: Life, Death, Miracles by Ann Cornelisen
In the Shadow of a Cypress by Michelle Johnston
Desiring Italy - Edited by Susan Cahill
How to Be an Artist by Jerry Saltz
Intermezzo - Travel Diary by Michelle Johnston (April 2027)
Moleskine Notebooks - Set of 3 (A5 size) Cahiers Collection are my favourite travel writing books at the moment!
The pleasure of sitting at a table in a French Wine Bar or an Italian Caffe at the end of the day is a true joy on a travel adventure, and my favourite way to reflect and make space for ideas and thoughts from the experience. The journal is not only a great companion but a witness to the travel journey…
“The art of travel writing is in the seeing. It’s in taking everything in all at once” - Michelle Johnston
My favourite Notebooks - they are light and easy to tuck into a small bag. You can fill up one book at a time and not be lugging a large book around daily while on the adventure. They have cream pages and thin lines so to fit a lot of detail into the journal.