Travel Writing Curriculum

1) Course Overview → 2) Curriculum → 3) Meet the Faculty → 4) FAQ’s → 5) Enroll Now

The MatadorU Travel Writing curriculum moves from storytelling forms and techniques through publication and internet presence building, and culminates in finding, obtaining, and managing paid work as a new media pro.

1. Travel Writing: From Ancient Origins to Today’s Opportunities

• A Short History Of Travel Writing
• Enter the “Professional Travel Writer”
• Opportunities (Both On & Offline)
• Assignment & Recommended Reading

2. Understanding the Structure and Techniques of Travel Writing

• Introduction To Travel Writing Forms
• Opening: Five Compelling Beginnings
• The Middle Section
• Conclusions That Lead To New Directions
• Assignment & Recommended Reading

3. How to Bring Your Storytelling Voice to Life

• Characters
• Using Diaglogue
• Illuminating Details and Anecdotes
• Descriptions: Using All Your Senses and Balancing Showing vs Telling
• Avoiding Clichés and Working With Pacing
• Making Your Verbs Act & Your Words Count
• Rewriting and Self-Editing
• Writing from Your Original Voice
• Assignment & Recommended Reading

4. Story Forms and How They Fit in Travel Writing Markets

• Destination Stories
• Reviews, Q&A’s, and Infographics
• Travel Blogging
• Assignment & Recommended Reading

5. How to Research, Plan, and Prepare for a Paid Writing Assignment

• Three Lessons to Learn Before Pitching Any Story to an Editor
• Focusing Your Pitch and Story
• Researching Your Story – Before, During, and After Your Trip
• Focusing Your Story as you Write
• Assignment & Recommended Reading

6. Developing a Publication Mindset by Thinking Like an Editor

• Understanding how the Publishing Industry is Evolving
• Getting a Publication Mindset
• Essential Skills and Tactics for Pitching
• How to Present Yourself in a Professional Way
• Three Successful Pitches and Why They Worked
• Getting the Most Out of Matador Market Leads
• The Fine Print: A Final Note on Publishing Vs. Self-Publishing, Money, and Legal Matters
• Assignment & Recommended Reading

7. Myths vs. Realities: 9 Things You Need to Make Travel Writing Your Career

• The Main Qualities
• Matador Success Stories: The Glamor versus the Hard Work
• In-House Versus Freelancing and How to Deal with Burnout
• Straight Talk About Earnings
• Assignment & Recommended Reading

8. Press Trips, Guidebooks, and Other Projects: Managing Paid Assignments for Maximum Productivity

• Introduction to Guidebooks and Press Trips
• What It Takes to Be a Guidebook Writer or Go on a Press Trip
• Approaching a Publisher
• Everything You Need to Know About Press Trips
• Example of a Successful “Letter of Interest / Application”
• A Press Trip Report
• Assignment & Recommended Reading

9. Building and Keeping an Audience Online by Mastering Social Media

• What is Social Media?
• Tacklng Twitter And Attracting Followers
• Analytics, Alexa Rankings, and Number Crunching
• Assignment & Recommended Reading

10. How to Capitalize on New Media, SEO, and Ads to Monetize your Blog and Pay for Your Travels

• Monetizing Your Blog & Why You Should Avoid Google Adsense
• How to Sell Your Own Ads
• 8 Steps to Building a Profitable Blog that Funds Your Travels
• Assignment & Recommended Reading

11. A Travel Writer’s Tools for Writing, Editing, Audio, and Video

• Your Trusty Journal
• Travel Photography- Selling More Than Just Your Words
• The A-B-C-D-E of Travel Photography
• Shooting Video and Adding it to Your Blog
• The Digital Audio Recorder: Your Best Friend for Conducting Interviews
• Which Laptop Works Best for Travel Writers?
• Podcasting: What You Need for Recording and Editing in the Field
• Securing Your Gear
• Assignment & Recommended Reading

12. Living the Dream: How to Launch, Sustain, and Advance Your Travel Writing Career for the Long Term

• Overview: Putting it All Together and Making The Leap
• Couchsurfing / Volunteering: How to Extend Your Travel Time
• Managing Mail, Taxes, Finances, and Healthcare On the Road
• Assignment & Recommended Reading

Post-Course

• Alumni Resources

Bonus Modules

Note: Bonus Modules are highly focused lessons that expand on the knowledge learned during the 12 week curriculum. They are available for free to students who have completed the Travel Writing Program. This is the list of what’s presently available. Several new modules will be produced / released in 2011.

Personal Branding for Writers
How to Conduct Professional Interviews as a Travel Writer
The Art and Craft of Interviewing
How to Do Desk Research
Conceptualizing, Pitching, and Crafting Front of Book Articles
Wordpress Plugins for Beginners
Magazines that Publish Travel/Place-based Writing