Travel Writing – Write in the Third Person
If you are writing travel articles then consider what is best to enable you to get the maximum possible opportunity for getting your articles published. One of the tips to consider is whether to write in the first or third person.
There are some clever and popular travel writers, for sure. Some of them are household names. Others are new and inspiring. These people find it easy to write in the first person. They say “I did this” or “I did that.” Their articles are of a high standard.
However, it can be difficult to write in this way and, especially if you are not established, it can be difficult for readers to connect with you. Frankly, people don’t always want to know what YOU did, what YOU ate, and where YOU went. Your article is, after all, not an autobiography. It is a travel article.
People feel more comfortable when you talk and write in the third person (unless they know you or know of you). So, you would say, “proceed down Western Avenue” rather than “I proceeded down Western Avenue” and “try the duck in wine sauce” rather than “I had the duck in wine sauce.”
You are giving your reader a guide, a blueprint, and an opportunity to loosely base their travel plans and experiences on the facts you can supply. You are not asking them to live a typical day in YOUR travel itinerary.
Allow your readers to experience the travel information you have in an objective and factual way. Write in the third person, not in the first.
