Greetings,

Since this is a time when many people are travelling, you may be thinking about compiling a record of your holidays - either for your own entertainment or to sell. This week seems like a good time to take a look at some of the things to avoid in travel writing and some of the things to include.

• Use cliches. Editor of The Australian Way, the QANTAS inflight magazine, Tom Brentnall comments: "A pearl is found in an oyster. There is only one Mecca, the birthplace of Mohammed, in Saudi Arabia - it is not some trendy retail strip of designer clothing stores." Ouch! How many writers have been guilty of this one ... Brentnall continues, "Paradise is where you go when you die (it is not five minutes from an airport). A magnet relates to electrical polarity."

• Overdo the adjectives. Words you wouldn't dream of using in conversation, often appear in travel writing: "fabled, wondrous, roseate."
• Go silly with personification. Do buildings ever really smile; do ruins beckon at every turn; do chimney tops sing their welcome? I don't think so.
• Use the first person. Fascinating as your reactions might be to your immediate family, the rest of the world frankly doesn't give a damn what you thought as you took your first mouthful of Mexican food.
• Mention religious or ethnic differences. It's so easy to patronise when you wax lyrical about the quaint little customs of the villagers; the interesting way the townspeople behave at funerals etc.
• Use "reverse-racism". To quote Brentnall again, "It is sad how many articles we get that describe people of non-Caucasian descent as being 'well-trained', 'polite', 'professional', 'well-spoken' and 'hygienic' (seriously)."
• State the obvious. Most people who travel are aware that the sun rises in the east - even if you add something about the skyline, this is still old news! If you're at the beach, don't write that, "the waves rolled up on the sands" - hey, that's what a beach is.
• Use journalese. How many places have you read about where "old meets new"; how many places have "twisting alleys", "bustling thoroughfares", "half-forgotten byways"? Too many!
• Discuss the gory details. Travel writing is meant to accentuate the positive, not the negative aspects of destinations. (Unless, of course, you're doing an expose.)
• Be a snob. People from all backgrounds travel these days, don't alienate any of your potential readers by using obscure language or allusions.

• Use short words in preference to long words (likewise for sentences and paragraphs).
• Focus on what's interesting and different about the spot. Find details that are significant in some way - they might be unusual, colourful, humorous - just look for something that makes it special. Usually this will be a combination of the place and the people. Look around for someone or something that catches your eye and use this as the focus for your piece. Maybe there's an unusual colour scheme in shop windows or buildings; a pedestrian that causes you to stop and look, or an absence of something that you'd expect to find in the area.
• Give concrete details. Don't tell us that "food was dirt-cheap"; do a bit of that maths that your teacher told you would come in useful in later life and convert the price of the meal to your own currency. Tell us - specifically - what was in the meal; elaborate on the service, the setting etc. Describe not just the big things - the buildings and bridges, but also the little things - the street signs, the road surfaces, the seats, the grass etc
• Check your spelling, punctuation and expression.
• Read your work - aloud - to yourself; this enables you to check for any clumsy constructions, any repetition etc.
• Check for the interest factor. Once you're happy with your piece of writing, read it again and see if it's interesting. If you hadn't been to this place, would reading your article make you want to go there? Or not?

Pair each word with its appropriate ANTONYM (opposite) from the list:

Ungracious, extempore, god-like, unhurried, homogeneous, changeable, paltry, uneducated

Benign - UNGRACIOUS

Diabolical - GOD-LIKE

Premeditated - EXTEMPORE

Immutable - CHANGEABLE

Hectic - UNHURRIED

Formidable - PALTRY

Heterogeneous - HOMOGENEOUS

Erudite - UNEDUCATED

We English speakers have "borrowed" (that's the nice way of putting it - pinched outright might be more accurate!), many words from other languages; what's the meaning of these Foreign Phrases?

Raison d'etre (sorry, you'll have to imagine the circumflex over the first 'e') -

Status quo -

Tour de force -

Verbatim -

Sang-froid -

Penchant -

Deus ex machina -

En rapport -

Fait accompli -

Faux pas -

Bete noir -

If English is your second language (or if you're a teacher of English as a second / foreign language), you'll enjoy taking a look at this page. It's a list of free newsletters that provide help for students and teachers of English as a second language. The concept originated with Elek Mathe (a member of our Write Way group) and Doug DeLong. I'm happy to be one of the original members of the network, which aims to assist anyone who is battling with the Wonders of English! It's a very cosmopolitan little group:

Elek lives and teaches in Budapest, Hungary.

Sab is The Farmer, and is based in Paris, as is Josef Essberger.

Michael Twide is based in Barcelona, Spain.

This little gem was sent to me by a friend of mine in the police force here (and you have to believe everything your friendly, local copper tells you, don't you?)

Calories don't count if they're for garnish.

Icing roses, maraschino cherries and chocolate sprinkles are not food. They needn't be computed in your caloric book-keeping.

Regards,

Jennifer

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