Are you a writer who travels or are you a travel writer?
This was one of the best questions I have ever been asked by actually someone I can not remember. However, fundamentally this does boil down a fundamental aspact of the field of travel writing. You see there are many people out there who consider themselves to be “travel writers” but what is this exactly? I mean can you really put yourself in that narrow of a category and still consider your work to be any good? Some of the best writers that have been published had their work published in a variety of publications many of which had nothing to do with travel.
You see I believe myself to be a writer who travels and will occasionally use the title of Travel Writer when it suits me. I believe that in order to really write high quality articles I must be open to write and be knowledgeable on a vast array of subjects. If I were to write about my travels to Haiti after the earthquake then some medical writing or knowledge would have come in handy in that situation. This knowledge would have made me feel more comfortable talking to the various Doctors and Nurses who were volunteering their time there.
Another example would be the emerging travel market of Northern Iraq. While this is still a very dangerous country to visit had I had some knowledge and writing skill on politics and religious studies I would be able to give my article far more depth then most others. It is the curiosity for knowing about the world that makes a travel writer deliever stellar articles.
So continue to be a travel writer if that is the title you wish to call yourself but try to expand into other areas where you may be able to add depth to your articles.
