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I was asked to write a small piece to introduce myself as a travel writing student, so here goes.
I’m a 38 year old Kiwi currently living in Perth, WA. I chose this course from many because it seems to cover a broader overview of the industry than most courses that are available in Australia.
I moved to Perth eleven years ago, only ever intending to be here for a year or two for a change of scenery. Things didn’t quite work out that way, and, although it is not my favourite place in the world, I have made a life here with my partner. I resent Perth at times, and have to remind myself that although the city itself may be a tad soulless, there are so many amazing places just a drive away.
There are several reasons why I decided to do this course. The easiest to explain is that I enjoy writing and I love travelling and everything it entails. Unfortunately I am much better at formal writing such as essays and reports than I am at the kind of descriptive, subjective writing that travel journalism requires. I needed some help with looking at things from a slightly different perspective.
Slightly more complicated was a cancer diagnosis three years ago that changed my outlook on life significantly. As trite as it is, the realisation that life is too short for doing anything other than that which makes me happy and doesn’t make me miserable hit hard. My prognosis from the disease is good and I have a far more positive attitude than I used to, but I feel that I need to find a new path.
I can’t honestly say what my plans will be when I have completed the course, but I am hoping it may lead to a blog or something similar. As much as income from this would be nice, I think it is more important for me to feel that I am spending time on something that I enjoy and am passionate about. Any excuse to travel is always welcome, of course.
I am finding it a bit harder than I thought I would to formulate my ideas into complete assignments, which is a bit frustrating, but I am enjoying the challenge. Hopefully it will become easier as I work through the tutorials.
Would be interested in hearing from other students and their motivations and challenges.
What an interesting piece of writing, Toni. Thank you so much for sharing something of yourself. Thank goodness your health is back on track. I was particularly struck by one sentence you wrote : “I love travelling and I love writing.” You probably don’t realise it but that makes you halfway there!! You are already a writer and obviously writing well. Don’t be dismayed that sometimes it feels hard. It is hard!! It does get easier but it never stops being hard because we are always trying to do it better. I often think that if you are doing what you love you will keep going until you are doing it to the best of your ability. I’ve been writing for 40 years and I still don’t feel I’m there yet!! That’s what makes it so compelling.
Hello Jill and Toni ! I might be a bit late in introducing myself , but better late than never . In my defense , I have been travelling and just back from a holiday . I must admit having joined this course , I have started thinking about places I travel to, from a different perspective. I started taking note of small things and making up notes in my head on how to put my experiences into an article or a travel story.
To talk about myself , I am a 30 year old, Wellington based Indian. I came to New Zealand around 5 years ago and fell in love with the place. I am into the Information Technology (IT) world and work as an Automation Tester . Travel has been my passion right from the time I got my wings and luckily my husband shares the same passion . In the past 5 years , we have been to various places. I always felt that although we enjoy every place we have been to, I find it hard to remember all the nitty gritties of the experience . I wanted to write about the experience but never found the motivation or the time, as I always kept myself busy with something or the other . Hence , I started capturing all the moments into photographs. I enjoy photography and love capture moments in the most natural way possible. I would call myself an enthusiast travel writer and photographer in the making. I love to socialize and interact with people from varied backgrounds and understand their culture , traditions and lifestyle. I have been an active member of Toastmasters community and was President of a local Toastmasters club. Through Toastmasters , I tried to ensure my love for public speaking is not lost to the daily routines and the best thing is we have to write our own speeches , although I do always struggle on the topics to talk about and end up with a writer’s block.
I wanted to have a hobby which I will always enjoy and thus my entry into this course. I would love to get a feedback , the good, bad and ugly on my writing skills and couldn’t have asked for a better tutor – a 40 year experienced writer , wow! I am super excited already Jill!
Tony, thank you for introducing yourself , it’s great to meet another student from the course . Glad to know you are back on track with your health and admire your new perspective on life .
Look forward to hearing more from everyone!
Regards,
Srujana
Hello Srujna,
I am very happy that you are joining us.
Already I love your enthusiasm and your intent. I know you will appreciate the course. One of the best spin-offs of travel writing is that it enriches your travel and drags you by the nose to places you otherwise wouldn’t go to. It also give you a purpose, other than ‘holiday enjoyment”, for going anywhere. I often say to students try to think about whether you want to write about your travels or travel as a writer. There is a difference.
Anyway, a big welcome to the travel writing course. I know I will enjoy working with you, and thank you very much for introducing yourself on the forum.
Best wishes,
Jill
Great to hear back from you Jill ! Now you have got me curious – what is the difference between the following two ? Write about the travels or travel as a writer – you would be writing about travel in either scenarios anyway, wouldn’t you?
No worries about the name – it is pronounced as Sru-j-ah-n-ah , although most of them end up pronouncing as Sru-j-aaa–n-ah or Sr-uu-j-uh-n-ah . It is a word from Sanskrit language and means Creativity and I am still trying to live up to my name 🙂
Regards,
Srujana
In a similar vein to what Tony has alluded to here my background has been generally with writing formally in essay and academic format. I do however have a growing interest in songwriting which does provide me with much more of a creative outlet. Its great for me personally to finally make the choice of starting this course and irrespective of what financial gain may come from it, will certainly be inspirational none the less.
Hi again Srujana. thanks for your feedback.
The difference is that a person who travels as a writer is driven by the subjects they are going to write about and follows leads and directions that produces the material she/he needs for the story. The writer is always on the lookout for different angles and ideas and takes notes (and photographs) as she/he goes.
A traveller who writes is someone who goes travelling and doesn’t think about writing until a later date.
Hope this makes it clear.
Regards,
Jill
Hi Tony,
Welcome to the group. It will be great to work with you. A song writer! Wow. That really is creative. as I am sure you are aware, writing creatively is very different to academic writing. You need different skills. But being able to write with clarity, which I am sure you do, really helps. And, of course, when you start something you never know where it’s going to end up!
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