Not all of us are born with a pen or pencil in hand. Not all of us are born with the talent to be writers. But that’s by no means a problem. Maybe travel writing isn’t for everyone, but for reasons other than talent. Of course, I won’t urge anyone to become a writer if they have grammar problems. Or if he writes as if his texts were translated with Google Translate. But there are a few things to remember when you plan to become a travel writer because you’ll run into them, and if you don’t know how to manage them, you’re likely to run into trouble. They’re not things you’re born with; they’re things you can handle yourself. These are the five essential qualities of a travel writer:
Passion
Put passion into everything you do, and you’ll succeed in bringing quality and excitement to your readers. When you add passion, it shows. People will perceive you as a passionate person; you will become popular and sought after. Cezar Dumitru, aka Imperator Travel, one of the oldest and most popular travel bloggers in Romania, is a mountain of passion when it comes to travel. If you go on a trip with Cezar, you’ll see that he doesn’t spare a second in exploring anything, even off the beaten track. He photographs everything, seemingly trivial things, but which he can later “hang on” for a little story. Caesar breathes travel, which is his way of life, and it’s no wonder he has ended up visiting over 120 countries.
Adaptability
Basically, you need to be ready for any type of travel at any given time. Today you can stay in a five-star hotel in Doha; you’ll have to squeeze into a hostel bed in Montevideo in two weeks. Today you’re invited to the launch of a spa in Marrakech, and you’re lapping up jacuzzis and massages; a week later, you’re off to India, and Delhi rats are stroking your ankles. And it’s not just about that. You must stay healthy (adapting equally well to the heat and the cold, having a stomach that can withstand trials of everything from weird food to less “checked” street food), and have a cool attitude towards everything. In other words, don’t turn up your nose when the conditions aren’t quite what you wanted. Think of the best stories as coming out of difficult situations, not necessarily happy ones. You are a travel writer, not a fancy influencer.
Flexibility
This is also about adaptability. But not only. Basically, when you’re at home, you always have to be ready to go somewhere. As they say: with your suitcase at the door. You can always get a proposal for an info-trip or press trip; just as if you work for a publication, you can always be sent by the editor on a fact-finding journey (this happens much less often now than in years gone by). Sure, sometimes you might not even be able to accept, but repeated refusals will give you a reputation as a no-sayer. And then you won’t be wanted.
Tenacity and discipline
These are two essential qualities for any travel writer. You’ll find yourself in situations where you’re on the road, in 40+ degree heat, maybe not feeling your best, but your travel schedule says you have to get to some Bedouin village to find out their story or climb 1500 steps to an ancient temple you’re going to write about. There’s no “I can’t. I’m staying here”. You take a 10-minute break, rest, hydrate, and move on with one thing in mind: you must get to your destination and research to write about it.
Discipline somehow goes hand in hand with tenacity. You can only be a successful writer if you’re disciplined. And the worst enemy of discipline is procrastination. Do you have material due by a specific date? Don’t let the days go by. Start writing the day after you return from your trip based on the notes you made during your travel. As time passes, memories and feelings fade. In addition, other trips may overlap, and you will end up choking for lack of time. Your materials will be poor in quality, and negative consequences will arise. Remember one thing I will keep repeating: make quality texts! Take quality photos! Make quality videos! In your travel writing career, put quality first. It will bring you success and, above all, quality will satisfy you from a soul point of view.
Family
Even if we’re not talking about one “quality” but a status, there might be a problem if you already have a family, including children. Families can’t go off independently, whenever and wherever they want. It’s a question of budget, and assuming the partner/partner is working in the same field, the budget doubles. They will have to show significant understanding if you don’t travel with your partner. Because if you turn out to be an avid traveler, you’re likely to miss a lot of home. And automatically miss birthdays, events, etc. Not to mention if there are children…
You can’t always control your departures, so you’ll end up with family and friends who can’t rely on you. It’s much easier if you’re single and not in a relationship. You leave when you want; you come when you want; you have your own life whenever you want, without bothering others. Most successful travelers don’t have permanent relationships.
But coming back, I have seen that lately there is a growing “fashion” for traveling as a couple. There are blogger couples who travel together and help each other out. For example, one writes the text while the other edits videos and processes photos. It’s the ideal version if you manage to monetize your articles to such an extent that you can fund your travels. There are a few examples of such couples in my country, Romania, and I really like what Aura and Dan are doing; they run the blog Aura Calatoreste and the (more globally successful) English version – Day Travel Pill. Another example is Laura and Sebastian, from Calator in bascheti, and the older Simona and Alex, from Lipa-Lipa.
Conclusion regarding the qualities of a travel writer
Some may be born with these qualities. But you can undoubtedly acquire or cultivate all of them during your lifetime. It is important to be aware of them and put them to work in your chosen career as a travel writer because they are essential and will help you greatly, both in your travels and the writing process.
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