In my humble opinion, effective travel writing starts with excellent writing—but it needs more!

Taking the reader to places never visited, activities only dreamed of. The destination could be almost anywhere, foreign or domestic. The activities could be anything not experienced by the masses: eating insects, zip-lining, parasailing, petting dolphins, helping sandbag a levy.

Taking the reader to a familiar place, seen from a different perspective. For example, airport security from behind the scenes, apple picking from the perspective of a child, a blind person white water rafting with a guide, walking across all the bridges in New York City.

Right now, I’m traveling, not writing about it! For more—and better?—advice, just search online for “effective travel writing.”