Exercise 3, page 117.0:01
Now it's time to welcome travel writer Simon Farrier, who's here to talk to us about his career.0:05
Good afternoon, Simon.0:13
From your books, it's clear that you're passionate about your work.0:15
Have you always wanted to be a travel writer?0:20
Growing up, I was influenced by my father's passion for photography.0:24
I spent my weekends, camera in hand, wandering around the city, looking for pictures.0:29
I had a Saturday job in a camera shop, so when it came time to leave school, a career in photography seemed to be a natural choice.0:33
And you had a job as a newspaper photographer, didn't you?0:41
How did that lead to travel writing?0:45
Well, it was a small local paper and sometimes we'd be short of staff.0:48
If there was no journalist available to do a story, the editor would ask me to write a few words to go with the pictures.0:52
I enjoyed the work and as my writing improved, I was given more to do.0:58
Soon after that, a friend asked me to write an article on flamenco dancing in Spain for a travel magazine.1:02
The rest, as they say, is history.1:08
What do you find most difficult about writing?1:10
Usually I can knock out a piece in an hour or so, but occasionally I make a struggle to get started on a project.1:14
When that happens, I force myself to write something, anything, just to get words down on paper.1:20
You can always improve it later.1:25
And what about ideas for travel articles?1:27
Is it hard to come up with them?1:30
Finding a new angle, something fresh, can be extremely difficult.1:34
So much travel writing today is unoriginal.1:37
You know the sort of thing.1:40
City type moves away to a rural location, suffers counter shock, but eventually falls in love with the way of life there.1:41
It's been done a thousand times and now readers want something different.1:48
What advice would you give to an aspiring travel writer?1:51
First of all, don't give up your day job.1:56
Writers are paid well, but work is hard to come by early on, before you build up your contacts.1:58
There can be long periods of unemployment.2:03
Secondly, research the publications you want to write for.2:06
Each has its own particular style and won't take stories that don't fit.2:09
Finally, you have to be clear about what you've been asked to write.2:14
I've wasted weeks on a story only to find it wasn't what the editor was looking for.2:17
Of all the places you've seen, which is your favourite?2:22
I've seen more exotic places, but I'm particularly fond of Seville.2:26
I went there for my first story.2:30
It has everything I love about southern Spain.2:31
Blazing hot sun, Moorish architecture, flamenco tapas.2:34
What more could you ask for?2:38
Finally, how do you see travel writing developing in the future?2:40
Sometimes I worry that people will lose interest in it, but then I read one of those classics like south by Shackleton, and I realize that a great story will always be a great story.2:45
Maybe the future is in writing travel blogs where you can follow the author's adventures as he has them.2:56
But I suspect that whatever happens, there will always be demand for a good book.3:01
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