Also, as I mentioned in my last check in, I had broken out the Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America Level 1, version 3.0) for my upcoming trips south of the border. So far I have practiced every day for at least an hour. While I will reserve a final judgment and review until after my last trip in late October, Rosetta Stone is a smart program with a comfortable intuitive sense that makes learning straight forward. On the down side, the software uses a system that requires the user to speak (in some sections) and the computer evaluates the user’s ability to talk. The idea is great, but the technology is clearly not there yet. I have thought maybe my accent is throwing off the machine and I just need to work harder on my pronunciation. However, when I am screaming “hola” into the microphone and the machine repeatedly fails me in the most basic and common of Spanish words, there is a larger problem.

Still celebrating Mexico’s bicentennial, and learning Español, with some new shots from the Pueblos Magicos, the city of Parras.

Overall, a productive week, and now for the coming week of the business side of owning travel publishing.

Travel Writing

I have a new updated “Submission Guidelines” due for ITKT that will hopefully allow new writers easier access to getting their travel stories online faster. I am hopeful that I can create an online form for travel writers to add articles they want to post directly to ITKT. I also want to have new articles prepared for TWL, the Huffington Post, Technorati and Travel Writing Rock Star.

Delegating

I am slowly removing myself from reading articles. And truthfully, this is a good idea. I think I slow down the process and take too much time deliberating over good, or not so good, writing.

Traveling

While still a ways off, China has crept into the picture for a possible November visit. As it would be a first for me and a place drenched in culture and history, China is one of the few places I can get particularly excited about.

As a professional travel writer, there is nothing I would rather do than travel. I even love hating the security lines at the airport. So, when I say that I love resorts, because of the pampering while lounging on exquisite beaches with frosty drinks, I really mean it.

However, there is something amiss when I hear about a traveler “visiting Jamaica” but never leaving the confines of the resort. After all, most international vacationers will travel thousands of miles away from home on holiday. It would make sense to do some exploring of the vacation spot, no? Still, I know quality resorts offer a wide assortments of amenities: from spa to sport to archery to dance lessons and lots of food. There is no reason to leave the resort.

So, in response to arguments about leaving the lap of luxury for the unknown variables beyond the tall, well-manicured hedges of the resort, I offer five good reasons to get the hell out of the resort, at least for a little while, on your next vacation.

Excursions

Most great resorts are near great attractions. Whether it be a UNESCO heritage site, colonial town or ancient ruin, all good resorts will help provide a way to see nearby attractions. Take advantage of the opportunity.

Help the Local Economy

Lots of countries make a significant amount of their gross national product from visiting travelers. While I am not suggesting blowing your vacation bankroll outside of the resort, taking a little to spread the love to local businesses has a direct and positive effect on the local economy, and in many stores this means haggling over price, which can be fun.

Save Money

While I love the pampering I get at the resort, extras like meals, gym and Internet access frequently are offered at a premium. Not that long ago, I stayed at a hotel that wanted to charge me $30 for a single day of Internet — even though I only wanted to briefly check my email. I found an Internet store a block away for 75¢ an hour for a savings of $29.25.

Authentic Food

I know, I know. Most resorts do a good job incorporating local cuisine into meal options so visitors can get a taste of the local fair. Still, some of my favorite food memories include locals taking me to their favorite restaurants. Several years ago, I was in Malaysia and was supposed to have dinner atop the 421-meter high Kuala Lumpur Tower. I craned my neck up at that needle in the sky and felt a pang of vertigo. I asked my group’s driver where he was going for dinner and was able to tag along. The meal turned into the most memorable and authentic of my visit to Malaysia.

Real People

After visiting more than 50 countries, one thing has been proven true — while the resort is a wonderful experience for pampering and idyllic beach-side sunsets, the memories I consistently take home are of the new people I meet along the way. The inspiration for my own online magazine comes from a long lunch with a little woman from St. Lucia — who provided the worst food, but the best company ever.

So next time you’re enjoying a holiday at a great resort, consider a few hours to explore a local community. You’ll be glad you did.

Remember, the winner must have a U.S. address. If you already receive my newsletter, just leave a comment if you want to enter this month’s giveaway. If not, please fill out the innocuous Travel Write Live newsletter form at the bottom of the page, leave a relevant comment somewhere on the site and read on from the words of the publisher.

The first edition of this photographic journey sold more than half a million copies across the globe. The new edition of The Travel Book contains 100% new content, including 850 stunning images and completely updated text.

Most travel journeys take in just a country or two, but the journey of The Travel Book features every single country on earth. And each one, no matter how large or small, is presented in a double-page spread — from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, from the postage-stamp-sized Vatican City to the epic expanse of the Russian Federation.

Highlighted by some of the finest photography in the world, The Travel Book offers a glimpse of each country’s perks and quirks, when to go, what to see, how to eat it up and drink it in, and ways to immerse yourself in the life and the land. What results is a grand snapshot of our diverse and kaleidoscopic world rather than an encyclopedic reference. It’s a book that unashamedly views the planet through the prism of the traveler, focusing on places for their beauty, charm or singularity, even if this does sometimes conflict with defined political or geographical borders.

Name:

Email:

We respect your email privacy

 

Still the week went well. I had written a letter to the highest contact I could find at my host company and my note made a difference. For the time being, my sites will stay where it is, but I have back up plans. My first Technorati article is live, but have also added it here on TWL. My next article on the Huffington Post is in the queue.

With Mexico’s bicentennial coming up in the near future, these photos from Chichen Itza are for the pics of the week.

And now for the coming week…

Writing

I have new articles into both Technorati and the Huffington Post. Now the project becomes managing writing and time. I am finding that writing away from home, in the library, is a perfect writer’s environment and I have seen some good productivity.

Organizing

As I mentioned earlier, I need some help. I have outlined, or should I say streamlined, the way ITKT is going to do business in the future, now it is time to implement these ideas and speed up processes for writers and readers alike. I want to create a system to have writer submissions turned around within twenty-four hours and loosen some submission guidelines to allow for more content. Change is scary, but necessary.

Traveling

Mexico City came through. So this means Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras in a two month span. While I have a smattering of Spanish, this is a good opportunity to take advance of several weeks of immersion. I have broken out Rosetta Stone and will be working nightly to see what I can learn in the next six weeks.

And how has your week been?
devin

I guess you could say I am the new kid on the block at Technorati, this being my first blog post. While I am new here – and excited about my future writing for this site – I have been consistently writing, editing and publishing travel articles as a freelancer and owner of several travel sites for the last eight years. I would not have it any other way. I love travel.

I have good reason. I have been lucky enough to create contacts with a number of important agencies and PR firms over the years. I travel a lot, almost always for free.

It’s true. I am one of those lucky writers who gets invited on press trips to far-flung destinations, staying at the swankiest of hotels, eating rich food, and getting behind the scenes access to historic attractions and famous landmarks. I would argue that there is no better gig. Of course, it is not all a bed of roses.

Press trip schedules are chaotic. I am saddled with dangling cameras to the point of strap rash around my neck. I take notes from arrival to departure – when I am not taking pictures or video – all the while continuously slathered in bug repellent. I am squished into the back of a van with a bunch of other sweaty writers without a moment to myself. There will be delays, sore feet, language barriers, sunburns and a bad case of diarrhea on every trip. And very few writers make enough dough to make it all worth the trouble.

Is it worth the trouble? To me, and many others, the answer is an emphatic, ‘yes.’ I am still constantly asked by strangers, “How can I be a travel writer?” The enthusiastic question is usually followed by an assortment of comments that are designed to make me believe that he or she is perfect for the job (not that I was offering): I kept a diary of my trip to Cancun back in ’89, I really like spicy ‘ethnic’ food; I really, really love travel and I could carry your bags.

So you want to be a travel writer? To the would-be travel writer, I congratulate you, but there is more to being a travel writer than the love for travel. It is a lot of hard work, but the road is manageable with the right information.

In my next series of articles, I will tell Technorati readers about what I do and how I did it. I will write about the behind the scenes fun and fatigue. I will also share information about my upcoming trips that will take me to Mexico City, and even further south of the border into historic Mayan areas in Central America. Like I said, I travel a lot. I will bring bug repellent.

Article first published as So You Want to Be a Travel Writer? on Technorati.

Truthfully, this writing is not an endorsement of the pen because, while super cool, it costs a bundle, more than what I could wrap my head around or afford. I didn’t even touch the display pen as it sparkled behind thick glass. Still, I find meeting new contacts (it was a first for me and the Mont Blanc team) beneficial. I wondered whether Twain would have endorsed such a pricey pen.

Steve Courtney on the left. Hal Holbrook on the right. Twain in the middle.

Beyond the sumptuous hors d’oeuvres and beautiful Rodeo Drive people, there was a short presentation by Steve Courtney of the Mark Twain House & Museum and the presentation of the very first Mont Blanc pen to Hal Holbrook, who may be most famous for doing a one-man show performed as Twain — and performed Twain better than anyone else, I might add. I could not help but enjoy both moments.

For those not familiar with Hal Holbrook’s Twain, please enjoy a taste below.

After chatting with Steve Courtney and Hal Holbrook about Twain while trying to hide how impressed I was by them, I made an abrupt exit from the Mont Blanc boutique in my dust-covered Honda before the beautiful people would see me. As I drove home, I wondered what Twain would have written about this night.

As an owner of multiple web sites, much of my time is dedicated to attempting to publish good travel content – I assume I sometimes fail. This means I read, evaluate, edit and publish – then rinse and repeat. Still, the technical aspect of maintaining my sites is something that many potential site owners and bloggers forget about. If you are one of them, allow me to let you in on a secret. Web site ownership can be a pain.

This week is a good example. I have been looking for a needle in a haystack, trying to find what might be causing my CPU consumption to soar. My host company has let me know that the problem could be anything, anything at all. “Great!” I say (with a hint of sarcasm). They need the fix asap if I want to keep my sites online, but their trained technical team cannot help me. As an untrained non-tech, I should find it myself. “Great!” I say (with sarcasm and annoyance). Despite all of this, the week did have some bright spots.

I just had my first travel article appear for the Huffington Post about Clubbing in Jamaica. The article is light and fluffy, like one of those “whipped” yogurts made with minoxidil and nonoxynol-9, and offers little precious nourishment. Still, I am glad I started with this article. Jamaica is an adventure and its nightlife worth exploring, even for an older guy like me. I will also submit my first blog for Technorati, one of the largest web sites in the world. I received the request via email while I watched President Obama’s motorcade whiz by as I stood behind police barricades, trapped two blocks from my home. Here are a few shots of the whizby, which looked more like aliens returning to the mother ship than a flashing police escort.

And now for the coming week.

Publish

After a week of tracking down an elusive technical issue, I now must get back on track. I have been lining up a slew of backlogged material for scheduling on ITKT.

Evaluate

Sadly, I have to do something about my server issues and will likely have to move to a new web hosting company. Any suggestions? I will have to firm up a couple of likely candidates unless something miraculous happens.

Writing

My projects, Travel Writing Rockstar and a book proposal still move forward. However, I have a new Huffington Post and my first Technorati blog due as well.

Traveling

I have been confirmed for this year’s CATM (Central American Travel Mart) in Guatemala City. The trip will include a pre-tour around the Guatemalan countryside and a post-tour to Honduras for its most famous attractions. I will be bringing cameras and a computer for daily updates. Still looking for a confirmation to Mexico City in September.

And how is your week?

15.

Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje

When I first read Running in the Family in college, I liked it. However, the ladies from my class gushed at Ondaatje’s prose and poetry with abandon. As I was the only guy in class, I made it my mission to discount Ondaatje’s writing at least a little and whenever possible. A year later, with no phantom reason to be contrary, I was simply blown away by this work. Ondaatje manages hilarity, poignancy, intensity, poetry, truth, memoir and photos in a book that breaks rules and makes me want to be a better writer. I guess I am gushing too.

14.

The World Healing Book Birgitta Jonsdottir, Editor

Don’t bother looking for The World Healing Book, you are never going to find it in any store. It is a collection of poems and a few short essays that had been put together to promote peace after 9/11. It had works by The Dalai Lama, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, a number of international talents and me.

When I saw my name in the byline (on page 52) for the first time ever, I went slack jaw and got all misty. It was at that moment I realized I wanted to do nothing more than write. It was also the first time I had physical evidence that I was not as bad of a writer as I thought. I wrote every day for months after The World Healing Book had been published.

The moral of the story, keep submitting your stories.

13.

Mind Games: A Guide to Inner Space by Masters and Houston

This book inspires a series of experiments/exercises that explore the nature and power of doing as an individual within a group. Yeah, not a great explanation. Sorry about that. As described on the back cover, “Mind Games is a how-to book of mental exercises for achieving altered states without the use of drugs or mysticism.” While in my twenties, with a trusted group of friends, this book was life-changing. Not only life-changing by the content of the book but because of the conversations that came up later.

12.

Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Fifth Edition from 1937

Yes, it is a dictionary. It is an old dictionary with personality before dictionaries stopped wanting to be creative. Here are a couple examples.

“Tahitian: One of the native Polynesians of Tahiti, a people noted for fine physique and intelligence…”

“Serene: …Shining with clear steady light.”

I love this old dictionary.

11.

Erased by Jim Krusoe

Erased is the only book on this list that I have not yet read. I know. I know. I have a good reason. The book’s writer, Jim Krusoe, is the single most important writing teacher I have ever had. Jim’s writing is also excellent.

I felt he deserves a shout out for his ability to discuss story and craft, and inspire better writing. He consistently encourages and finds ways to see a particular writer, and his or her writing, as unique. He wants to help improve the writing without ever making a student (at least this student) wrong while pointing out new ways to explore style and story. I am not alone in this assessment. In Los Angeles, Jim has a well-deserved fan club of past students that still refer to him often. I simply cannot thank him enough. I recommend taking his classes at Santa Monica College.

For a list of Jim’s books visit, http://www.amazon.com/Jim-Krusoe/e/B001JS4V52/ref=sr_tc_img_2_0?qid=1282347987&sr=1-2-ent

And now for the top ten!

50-46 45-41 40-36 35-31 30-26 25-21 20-16 15-11 10-6 5-1

In fairness, second person, done correctly, can be compelling and interesting. However, it is a hard voice to write in, as the tone of the piece always commands the reader. Examples include, “You’ll love it.” Or “(you understood) Make a left at the corner and a right into the first alley.”

My main problem with “you” voice is when I receive a story that has some second person writing in it, it likely has third person and first person in it as well. The POV jumps from place to place, usually without rhyme or reason. All this makes for some indecisive writing, which becomes tiring or confusing for the reader.

Still, I like to play with second person and I assume others do too from the amount of second person placed in stores I receive. I want to like these attempts, but I end up passing most every time. Here are a few other reasons why it might be a good idea to pass on second person.

Uncommon

Simply stated, it is rare to see “you” voice in a any professional publication and people are not used to reading it beyond more experimental or literary writing. Even then…

Limiting

Just like “we” voice, the writer is not in position to read the reader’s mind. So sentences can usually only command the reader to accept or take action. You feel crummy. You take some Pepto-Bismol. You are also a jerk-face. It can make the reader a punching bag.

Lazy

More than just jumping around in POV, articles written in second person tend to have the most misspellings, grammatical errors and writing that needs more editing. In my opinion as a reader, second person is a complicated art and misused by lazy writing.

Informal

When I was taught about writing in the fifth grade, the teacher told the class “using you” in an essay is too informal. This is still true of writing beyond the fifth grade, as well. Maybe in a personal blog, but even then most of us have had the same grammar lessons and may hang up when reading more than an occasional use of the word “you.” Almost all professional articles are written in either third or first person.

When is “you” voice good?

Using second person is appropriate when offering the reader instructions like in a recipe, “Mix three eggs and a half cup of water into four cups of flour. When mixture is smooth, you add two live cats and a squeeze of lime. Bake at 30 degrees for thirty minutes or until cats stop meowing.” Or if you are desperate to use “you” in your next great article, consider reading the writing of Lorrie Moore: Self Help and Birds of America both offer well-written stories in second person voice.

The photo is of some nice El Salvadoran performers from my trip to CATM last year. I included it, because I was thinking about papusas. These nice people have nothing to do with this article.

It all started with a simple note from my host server, the company that keeps ITKT and TWL safe and available to read. They wanted to let me know that my “CPU usage” was high. So high, in fact, that they were discussing turning off my sites. They could not tell me how to fix the problem or even point me in the right direction, but needed it done asap.

My aimless quest led me through platforms, themes, scripts, plugins, permalinks, redirects, super caching and many Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups (for emotional support). After a few days of stressing and deep thought, I might have figured the problem out. As of this moment, I am still in a holding pattern waiting to hear from five different tech people to coordinate and confirm.

For those who do not know running a web site frequently means having to wear many hats. The tech hat is the most frustrating by far. For now, I will take a deep breaths and hope for the best. And yes, this whole techy universe feels like a very inexact science at times.

Oddly, the first part of the week was productive. I wrote (one article is for one of the most prestigious web sites in the world) and sent out business proposals. I received my new (snazzy) business cards and interviewed India Tourism for Travel Writing Rockstar.

Writing

Outstanding Japan article needs to finish. I also need to shift my attention to my first ebook about making it in the travel industry as a writer, Travel Writing Rockstar. This means explaining how to get the perks and accessing the part of the travel industry that makes it all worthwhile.

I have also promised a friend to get a “real” book proposal together for her to shop on my behalf. I need three perfected chapters and a good argument why others might want to read it.

Video

Time to start video editing Travel Writing Rockstar. There are now multiple hours of footage to organize and edit.

Technocrap

I am looking to put platforms, themes, scripts, plugins, permalinks, redirects, super caching and many Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups behind me.

This week’s photo is long bridge in Greece. I could use a long bridge right about now. Greece would be pretty nice as well.