A Writer's Life

Trying To Be A Travel-Writer: My Story So Far…

Date: March 29th, 2008 |

One of our recent posts here stirred up many comments and thoughts. Although I assure you we’ve never meant to be impersonal, some of the commenters have expressed that this site lacks a personal touch, and many often ask for Jen. Unfortunately, as Nick has mentioned, Jen has retired from this site. She can be [read more]

Writing Online: What You Write Vs. How You Write

Date: March 9th, 2008 |

42 comments

I don’t know about you guys, but with the explosive growth of the online publishing industry and the constant debate over the authority definitions when it comes to journalists, bloggers or writers, I am often left confused and lost as to 1) what I should be writing 2) how should I be writing about it [read more]

The Harsh Realities Of Life As A Lonely Planet Travel-Writer

Date: February 7th, 2008 |

6 comments

Dreaming to write for the Lonely Planet is often where your inspiration to become a travel-writer comes from. I remember I frequently used to spend time in a book shop reading and taking down notes from the biographies of the writers of each LP edition: what their background was, what they aspired to, and if [read more]

What Travel-Writer Personality Are You?

Date: January 28th, 2008 |

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For those of you who haven’t seen this already, Rucksack Wanderer Tim Patterson over at Brave New Traveler has come up with 6 most original travel-writer personalities:
-The Intrepid Monk
-The Epic Adventurer
-The Naked Introvert
-The Walking Party
-The Public Relations Professional
-The Guidebook Writer
Read and and have a giggle over the descriptions, he plays with numerous interesting characteristics of [read more]

Merry Xmas!

Date: December 24th, 2007 |

3 comments

Just wanted to check in and wish all you guys a very Merry Christmas from us here at Written Road!
As for me, working from home updating numerous blogs is hard and is taking its toll. It’s difficult to ever switch off because you keep wanting to get things written. I worked hard over the weekend [read more]

New Writing Website: The Midlist Writer

Date: March 19th, 2008 |

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Good friend, fellow traveler and writer Sean McLachlan (who has shared his advice for us here before), has entered the blogging world to share his writing experiences.
Sean has been to 20 countries on every continent (except Australia and Antartica), is author of Moon Guidebook to London, the Insider’s Guide to Phoenix, and Globe Pequot’s [read more]

Making Money As A Writer. Good Money.

Date: February 13th, 2008 |

7 comments

“It’s possible to make a good amount of money as a writer. Most writers don’t. You should assume, strictly for business purposes, that you won’t, or at the very least, won’t for a very long time. It’s not all about you, it’s also about the market. Don’t get defensive. The median personal income in the [read more]

My New Digs: Brooklyn, New York

Date: January 30th, 2008 |

2 comments

I am now officially a Brooklynite. About two weeks ago I relocated to Greenpoint, in the northwest corner of Brooklyn. It’s a mostly Polish community, but has recently seen an influx of hipster types escaping the Manhattan-like rents of nearby Williamsburg. My wife and I were actually expecting to land in Manhattan, but begin looking [read more]

Learnings from 2007, Writing Goals for 2008?

Date: January 6th, 2008 |

1 comment

Last year was a big writing year for me. An awfully disorganized one, but a big one nonetheless.
I continued writing for Gridskipper; did a short stint at globorati; and began writing here, for Vagablogging, for Gadling, for European Vibe and for Map Magazine. Other than European Vibe, for which I’ve written numerous travel-sections (of [read more]

Moving to NYC

Date: November 21st, 2007 |

3 comments

I’m married now, been everywhere, and finally earning enough scratch to stay afloat, so my wife and I are relocating to New York City, home of all my childhood hopes and dreams. Are plan was to buy a house here in Columbus and stay for a few years and then head to NYC, but we [read more]