Description
Details
Date: October 16th & 17th 2021
Venue: Llwyn Celyn, Cwmyoy, Nr Abergavenny. NP7 7NE
Cost: £195
For all the recent changes in the way we communicate in the digital realm, the written word remains the most evocative way to capture the experience of travel. Travel writing taps into the most ancient and yet enduring form of human storytelling. Travel is hardwired into our restless souls, the need to venture beyond our physical and cultural boundaries and return to tell people what we’ve seen, experienced, felt about what lay beyond the next ridge. Where once these adventures were spoken of around the fire, now we read about them.
If you have always wanted to learn how to research, write and pitch the kind of travel articles editors are looking for, or discover how to transform your travel notes or blog into tight, compelling copy, or simply want to learn how to tell great travel stories, then Element’s travel-writing course will help you achieve that under the guidance of Mike Carter – a Guardian and Financial Times journalist and award winning travel writer.
Our venue is the Landmark Trust’s historic 15th-century restored barn at Llwyn Celyn, in on the England-Wales border in the Black Mountains. It’s a light and inspiring place to work. The weekend is suitable for writers of all levels. You might have little or no formal experience of travel-writing. You may be an experienced writer in another field wanting to explore the world of travel-writing, or you might just be keen to learn a new skill. Everyone is welcome. Our desire to travel and tell our stories near or far will never leave us.
Through a combination of talks, practical exercises and forays out into the inspiring landscapes on Llwyn Celyn’s doorstep we provide an informal and supportive atmosphere. Participant numbers are kept low to allow for plenty of personal feedback. We will go through the problems that beginning travel writers usually encounter and you will leave feeling much more confident in your writing ability.
Course content includes:
- The seven deadly sins of travel writing
- How to write a gripping introduction, arguably the single most important element of any travel story
- How to conduct the main body of a travel story, using “building blocks” – details of geography, history, culture, sounds, food, colour, language – to guide your reader towards a deep sense of place
- How to bring a piece to a satisfactory conclusion
- How to spot clichés and how to avoid them
- How to show and not tell
- Taking useful and effective notes
- The importance of dialogue and quotations to give your story authority and life
All our courses are run within full Covid-19 guidelines. If the course can’t go ahead you will always be offered the options of a rescheduled date or a full refund.
We will send you our local comprehensive accommodation list on booking.
Lunch is included on both days as is free access to drinks and snacks throughout the day.
The venue is easily reached on good main roads from the M4 motorway and there is a station in Abergavenny if you would like to come by train – don’t hesitate to email us if you require any help or suggestions with your travel arrangements: info@element-active.co.uk
