Take Your Inner Writer RVing

As we travel through the blooming Springtime deserts, the forests filled with immense trees, the coasts with their unending waves licking at the craggy rocks, it's natural to want to retain our experiences through photos and journals. In our early days on the road, many of us journaled and then sent mass letters to friends and family back home to give them a taste of what we were seeing and experiencing.

As the technology improved, we were able to send group e-mails. One couple, Mark and Donia Steele, received such great feedback from the recipients of their emails that they polished them and turned them into a book, Steeles on Wheels. Now many RVers are creating their own blogs, incorporating their writing and photos to describe their adventures.

"But I'm not a writer," you say. "I can't do this." 

In my experience at RV rallies leading the workshop, "How to Write Travel and Life Stories for Family, Friends, and Publication," I've discovered that EVERYBODY can journal. I teach these guidelines I learned from Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones.

  • Buy a plain spiral notebook
  • Set the timer for 15 minutes
  • Just write
  • Don't think
  • Don't edit
  • Turn off your critic
  • Use your five senses for description: What does it look like, sound like, feel, smell, taste like?
You will be surprised at how easily the writing will come when you don't criticize yourself but just let the writing appear. Don't worry about grammar and punctuation. You can always clean that up later if you're letting other people read what you've written.



You may only write for yourself at first, but after a while you will start sending the best snippets to friends in emails or holiday letters. Or you may create your own blog. You may decide to write articles or even a book. When Jaimie and I first met fourteen years ago, we had never published an article or even thought we would be book authors.

You may be interested in our book, Taking the Mystery Out of RV Writing, available in e-book or CD format. It describes the entire process starting with freeing your inner writer and getting your words on the page, and continues through magazine writing, book writing, and marketing to sell that precious book.



For a free copy of my report, "Write Compelling Travel or Life Stories in 10 Easy Steps," send an email to me at youshoulda @ aol.com (remove spaces). We would love to hear about your travel blogs. Send us the URLs.

Set your timer and start writing!
Alice

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