Writing Travel Articles

I have been thinking of writing travel articles for a while. The thought occurred to me several years ago, then it got pushed aside somewhere, but since February this year, the thought has been in my mind more or less consistently. If I am going to try my hand at freelance writing, it makes sense to write something that I am passionate about, and one of them is travel. But it’s not been so easy.

It’s not that I am not capable of writing articles, because over time, I have written a lot of blog posts, emails etc. explaining things, how-to type things, and generally a detailed consolidation of material that would result in a good article. And yet, I can’t say I have got many completed articles. Why is that?

One possibility I consider is because writing an article is more formal than writing a blog post or an email. Though there are all kinds of formats in an article, including first person narratives, the aim still is to reach a target auidence and deliver what they would like to read. For attempting to publish an article, there are guidelines, and one has to meet them. Whereas writing a blog post or emails comes from within one’s self. It’s more or less like talking. I start typing and the words flow, because all I have to do is be myself, write in my own way, and voíla it’s done. So it is perhaps fear or lack of confidence? After all, a good writer should be using her voice, her personality in the article she writes. Despite uniform guidelines for travel magazines or websites, each writer’s material is different. So a part of me feels as if I wouldn’t be able to convey my voice in an article.

A logical part of me is aware that it’s not true. It knows that I am capable of producing an article, in my own style. But an irrational part of me suppresses that confidence. But I have got a message for that irrational part. Sooner or later (sooner, I hope) I am going to break through its barriers to have scraps of writings and thoughts turned into proper articles. And guess what will happen once I have done that? There will be no point for that irrational part to argue, because I’ll have proof that I can do it. Nearly there, now just need to cross the finish line.