I find it exhilarating that you can start with a blank sheet of paper, a tabula rasa, marshal thoughts together and fill the page with a narrative.  You start with nothing and end up with something!

Like photography, writing is a concentrated form of paying attention. You have to closely observe things around you. I find this like being mindful and it makes for a rich life experience. 

The more I write, the more important it is to look carefully within myself, to make sure the voice that goes on the page is an authentic voice. That's both the most interesting thing for me and the reader. For me because I'm learning every day about myself. For the reader because I think most people sense and appreciate an authentic voice. No pretences. What you read is 'me'.  And, in order to have a narrative to write about in the first place you need to have an 'experience'. This means I am constantly exposing myself to new life adventures.  

Travel puts me to the test. It forces me to grow as a person because there are so many situations you can get into, that you need to manage, find a way through, overcome. Some situations can even be quite scary. But, at that moment of fear, I try to let fascination creep in. Each time this happens, I become more empowered and capable as a person. And then there is the constant growing awareness of how many people live different lives to my own. Of course, we all know this because we learn about it in school or hear about it in the news. But when you encounter it first hand, it's a very different kind of learning.  One of the best things about travel for me, is the kinds of serendipitous conversations I can have with strangers I meet along the road. I've had the best and most interesting conversations with people I will never meet again.  And, I think, the fleeting connections you have with strangers can be really powerful for your wellbeing. I've written about them in some of the articles on this website. Go here

As I mentioned earlier, I try to write with a really authentic voice. That means shortening the distance between the thoughts I have getting it down on the page. The moment I start to 'investigate' that thought it begins to change its tone. Judgements and expectations enter distorts things. Spontaneity and authenticity is lost. Once it's down on page, I  like to go over the writing and ask  questions: how can I say this in a simpler way? How can I say this differently? In a more interesting way? I'm very fortunate that my wife (Audrey) and son (Rouan) are both great editors so my pieces always go through them first. And my son gave me perhaps my best lesson once. He'd read a piece I'd written and wasn't impressed. When I started telling him the travel experience I'd had, he said 'well just write it the way you're telling it. Just like that.' That's excellent advice that I've stuck to ever since.

I returned from India and penned a story about a street kid I met in Varanasi. I sent it as an unsolicited piece to a magazine and they accepted it for publication. I guess you could say I got lucky. That article went on to win an award at the Travcom Media Awards. And just like that I started writing travel pieces. The story got published twice, once as a short form piece of about 500 words in The Listener and one a five or so years later as a longer piece of about 1,900 words in North and South magazine, where I'd followed up on this kid's life. It's called Varanasi Calling. 

Interestingly, the first story I wrote for The Listener was sent back to me by the editor at the time with a note to say he liked the story but could I please rewrite it, ensuring the story had a "narrative arc". At the time I never realised what a privilege it was to have an editor send something back, not only requesting a rewrite but also offering advice. For most editors, you just don't hear back. And it turned out to one of the best pieces of advice a writer could get. I've included it in my top tips for writers. 

There was quite a gap between that first published piece and becoming a freelance travel writer and photographer. But it was certainly the catalyst and gave me the confidence to think I could actually make a go of it. I began to very proactively apply myself to learning the craft of writing and photography. 

"Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader - not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained on". E.L. Doctorow

One of the great rules of writing is "show don't tell".  As a writer, guide the reader through unfamiliar territory without taking away the experience. Avoid saying too much in your story or pointing out what your story means.  Allow the revelation to belong to the reader. Challenge. Confront. Dare. Throw them into new territory.  Sometimes confuse them. Then let them go on their own journey of discovery. This is the ultimate fulfilment for a reader.  Keep in mind this guiding metaphor of classic style: a writer, in conversation with the reader, directs the reader's gaze to something in the world.

The writing challenge in 'show don't tell' is to be kind, but not too kind. If your story is obscure or vague, then the reader may never be fulfilled - or requires a book to explain the book such as the one written by scholars that explains the obscure threads that Nabokov wove into Lolita. 

As a travel writer, it's important to reflect the world as it is, for every country, every city has a shadow. But it is also our duty to discover and bring brightness to the page. Go down to the dark places, but bring back a torch. You want to have light enough to see the page. Stand in the shadows but be available and interested in joy. Don't get stuck on one note. Keep open to different shades. Every now and then, give your writing a shake. As a traveler and writer remain open to all possibilities. Contrast has power. Writing should make us sit up and take notice - but in the end make us feel glad to be alive. 

Brevity is the soul of wit and many other virtues in writing. It's harder to achieve than it sounds. Part of the art of being succinct happens during the editing process. You'll be amazed at how many words can be removed from your writing without obscuring the meaning. If anything, brevity creates clarity!

A time-honoured trick for checking the quality of your writing is to read it aloud. Though the rhythm of the speech isn't the same as a branching tree, it's related to it. Reading your writing aloud is a good way to feel the cadence of your sentences. 

In writing you are passing information to a reader using works and you use use works in such a way as to reduce the uncertainty about what you are trying to say. 

I've never written without a computer, so the idea of writing long hand is completely foreign - and almost inconceivable. I love the idea I can move passages around at will, without the boundaries of page or pen. That freedom enhances my experimentation. Some consider the pen-to-hand connection important for creating - I'm not one of them. I've mostly abandoned the lap top and write on my phone, in Google Docs. It's a fabulous liberation and amazing to me that I can write anywhere at any time, just by reaching my for my phone. And this has certainly shaped how I write and how I create. When I'm working on a story, I tend to create in my head as I walk around the streets and when I have an idea I think has merit, a sentence or line, I reach for my phone. 

Here's my general approach to writing: I get the draft down as quickly as I can. This has to do with maintaining my 'voice' which you can read in the blog post called 'Having your own voice'.  I work on two or three stories at one time, building slowly, adding to each story over days. Once the story is 'completed' as in, the content and outline is down, I begin the process of refining and editing. 

I write at any time of day. I have no routine, nor do I subscribe to this approach. I think you do what works for you. I regularly save and copy my stories in Drive. I start with the 01_Story and at some point, rather than say, delete paragraphs that no longer suits the story, I create a new version: 02_Story and so on. That way, redundant passages are still available and may well suit another story or be resurrected later on. 

Once I'm finished with a story, it is shared with my editor. I a story never leaves for a magazine without being professionally edited. 

Researching my upcoming article on The Science of Happiness, I came across data that said talking to strangers improves happiness and well-being.  I've since made a concerted effort to connect with strangers: in the sauna, in coffee shops, on a park bench, on the bus.  And the results.... have been, well, exhilarating. 

Recently, in a central city coffee shop I chatted with a woman who sat next to me drinking chai.  I began by asking her, had she ever had authentic chai in India. From that chai catalyst our conversation ranged widely.  We covered her time as a 16 year old student on a 6 months exchange program in China, then moved to her studies in anthropology.  She took issue with some of the premises that Yuval Noah Harari proposed in his book Sapiens which I found fascinating. When I found out she was now working in finance we discussed the sustainability of the capitalist model and countries operating a non profit mode, before moving and then found ourselves shifting to a conversation about the Stoics and, in particular, the philosophy of The Last Time Meditation.  Before leaving, I recommended reading the books by William Irvine: A Guide to the Good Life and The Stoic Challenge.  All I can say is, don't ever underestimate the person next to you drinking chai.  Have a comment? 

Creative non-fiction combines the literary craft to tell real life stories. It’s like combining poetry with journalism. Non-fiction told in a compelling, visceral and immersive way. Stories that draw the reader in and when they leave the page they feel.. changed. Creative non-fiction can be a travel story, an essay, a memoir or a personal portrait.