The Masterclasses 2023: 10 travel writing tips from our experts

The Masterclasses by National Geographic Traveller (UK) returned in September 2023 with a brand-new series of insightful, hour-long online sessions curated for aspiring travel writers and photographers.  

Leaving no stone unturned, the expert panel of travel writers explored everything from penning that all-important opening line to forming good relationships with editors. Throughout the three sessions, they shared a wealth of inside knowledge — offering up advice that will prove invaluable to anyone hoping to make travel writing a full-time career. 

These are their 10 top tips on getting your story published, navigating the industry and using structure to elevate your travel writing. 

1. Know your reader

“I would say the number one mistake freelance writers make when pitching is they don’t understand the audience of the title. The best thing you can do if you’re really interested in writing for a publication is to go out and buy yourself the magazine and familiarise yourself with the content, the tone and the kinds of things that the readership might find of interest.”  — Alicia Miller, Pitching and getting published 

2. Be patient

“If you’re really interested in something, then there will be an audience out there for that story. It’s just about finding the right home for it. Don’t get discouraged — and believe in your idea! Because if you find it interesting, other people will too.” — Daniel Stables, Pitching and getting published 

3. Win over commissioning editors

“When I first started freelancing, editors didn’t know who I was. One way of showcasing my knowledge was deeply researching a destination and including a taste of that in the pitch. Make it concise, but also show that you have knowledge about the destination. If I was working with a new editor for the first time, I would always include links to previous work, or somehow demonstrate my expertise in the subject.” — Qin Xie, Pitching and getting published

4. Utilise social media

“Dinosaurs like me may absolutely despise it, but the reality is that if you’re a travel writer and you have no presence on social media, you have no presence.” — Tharik Hussain, How to be a savvy travel writer in 2023 

5. Know today’s travel writing landscape 

“Perhaps 10 years ago, 20 years ago, travel writing came from a person’s appreciation of a destination. Now what we’re looking at is trying to capitalise on what other people in the big internet landscape are looking for… Travel writing is kind of evolving away from being that destination-led 'this was my experience, and this is how you can recreate it' and it’s turning to using travel as a sort of lifestyle trend.” — Cathy Adams, How to be a savvy travel writer in 2023 

6. Find a niche 

“Editors, increasingly, are looking for people either based in a destination or people who know a place really well and really understand the culture. And so, a couple of benefits of having a niche are that it helps editors find you: they can remember what your patch is. And then, on a personal level, I find it really satisfying to find those stories that take you to the deeper levels of a destination. You have to have a really genuine passion for the place because it’s a bit like writing a book: you still have to find it interesting after 50,000 words.” — Zoey Goto, How to be a savvy travel writer in 2023 

7. Find the right working environment

“Usually, I’ll find some travel writing from a writer I really like, and I’ll kind of read over their pieces just to get in the right frame of mind. I’ll usually listen to some quite amped-up music — usually the same playlist I use for running — because it kind of gets you in the mood to do things. For actual writing, I’m a big fan of white noise. Having narrowed it down over several years, I think my favourite type of white noise is the tumble dryer; there’s a whole tumble dryer playlist on Spotify that I am really dedicated to.” — Georgia Stephens, How to structure your storytelling 

8. Write as though talking to a friend

“You don’t have to use highfalutin prose to make an intro work. Often, it’s the simple stuff. Good journalism is a bit like talking to a friend. Just tell me what’s happening… And in the same way that your friends wouldn’t when you tell them about your travels, [the reader] won’t listen to more than two sentences of description. With the greatest of respect, no one cares.” — James Stewart, How to structure your storytelling 

9. Make the most of quotes

“Quotes are a way to deliver information to your reader from a different perspective — and it’s so much more powerful coming from someone else other than you. It’s definitely important to use quotes, especially when you’re writing about communities that you may not be a part of. Allowing people to tell their stories in their own words as much as possible, is so important.” — Katherine Gallardo, How to structure your storytelling 

10. Don't be afraid of writer's block

“As someone who has come to this relatively recently, I would say that even the best writers struggle to write sometimes. Everybody gets writer’s block, even published authors. Just don’t beat yourself up. If it’s not coming, it’s not coming. Just come back to it another day.” — Georgia Stephens, How to structure your storytelling