What does it take to become a travel writer?

Or you can accept being broke, but living a fun life.

Sell all your stuff, and go around the world. Take odd jobs and write about it. Move on. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Wow, what a "moving" question! Excuse the pun. So you'd like to be a travel writer? Ever since the death of my biological father, I have been traveling here and there across the North American Continent. My stepfather and mother have travelled all over the world, bringing back with them incredible stories of human happiness, and sometimes of abject misery. You got to face the world as it is, but if you expect the good, well, goodness will shine on you through human contact. Nothing like traveling and meeting people with different points of view, it sure makes you humble.

Besides the mass of humanity out there, waiting for you to visit; there's also the beautiful experience of life's many wonders, the changes of seasons in places you've only dreamed of, and sometimes apparently no seasons at all in some of those desert regions. But I find that there's always some form of cyclic transformations in the places that I visit, which I write about indirectly through the active characters in my screenplays. A good filmmaker-writer incorporates geographic human habitats within his varied stories and traveling gets you there, to see and experience those mighty wonderful people and places.

Pick up your pen and camera, Helena, and go diving into that vast sea of humanity. Then, write about your experiences; and if you can, publish them in appropriate magazines or journals. It's not that difficult, just send your articles in, and very often they'll publish your unique insights and moving experiences (pun included) without too much editing.

My advice is be nice, always be nice, and people will pick on that friendly behavior and you'll make new friends, whom, without a doubt, will bring to other new places for you to visit and write about. Good luck, Helena!

To become a travel writer, you really need to love travelling and writing. If you have special places you like to go, you can write about it and publish it. However, you have to do your research as to whether or not you want to write a travel book or for a popular travel magazine or blog.