Travel writing with Mike Carter: a one-day workshop
This one-day intensive course is aimed at people with little formal experience of travel-writing who would like to turn their notes from the road into coherent travel narratives. Whether participants want to transform their blogs into tight, sparkling copy, or learn to write the kind of travel articles newspapers and magazine editors are looking for, this course will take you through the necessary steps, navigating the problems and pitfalls beginning writers usually encounter, learning through a combination of lectures and exercises. By the end of the course you should have gained much confidence in your writing, and also acquired the knowledge of how to pitch to editors and what constitutes a story.

This course is for you if...
You’re a new writer wanting to turn your travel experiences into coherent, compelling narratives
You’re an experienced writer in another field wanting to explore the world of travel-writing


Course outline
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 construct the main body of a travel story, using building blocks 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
The importance of good note-taking
The importance of dialogue and quotes


Tutor profile

Mike Carter has been travel-writing for 15 years. He writes regularly for the Financial Times, and has written for the Guardian, the Observer, the Sunday Times, the Sunday Telegraph and Harper’s Bazaar. He is the author of two travel books: Uneasy Rider, which won the 2008 Oldie Travel Book of the Year, and One Man and his Bike, published in 2011, which documented his 5,000 mile cycle ride around the entire coastline of Britain, and which regularly features in the Amazon best-seller list. Mike recently walked 340 miles from Liverpool to London, in the footsteps of a 1981 political march. He is currently writing a book based on that experience.
Details
This event has been cancelled. For information on upcoming Guardian Australia Masterclasses and live events please see here