…of “self-care” – but also as something with a hugely important pay-off for combatting anxiety. Becoming more curious and more easily fascinated will take you out of your head, away from the dread-fuelled churn of your thoughts, and switch your brain from WTF to WOW mode. 3. Curiosity Pushes Back Depression That’s why I got into this stuff. After a rough half-decade of dealing with family health issues and the loss of my Ma in 2018, I sold a hous…
Why I’m Giving Away My Story Course For Free*
…’s the right kind of opinionated and always from the heart. This “how to become a travel blogger” post starts by ignoring the usual stuff about hosting packages and branding and whatnot, and focuses on far more useful advice for complete beginners like “just do whatever the hell you want” and “make it fun” – and here’s a piece of advice that’s all you need for your first few years online: “Play. Experiment. Figure out what you love to do and then…
How Not To Start A Travel Blog
…pecific, you may be able to build long-term relationships with local media companies: see how Keith at Traveling Savage was featured at The Scotsman. If you’re writing about where you live, become a backyard blogger when you’re not travelling. Potential pitfalls: picking a destination that is absolutely saturated with existing bloggers – which isn’t so much of a hurdle if you avoid the next danger, which is… sounding like everyone else writing abo…
If Tyrion Lannister Had A Travel Blog…
…raven to Chris Elliott about them. Totally not cool. Instead, follow my upcoming writeups with the hashtag #InCostaBraavos I was totally THRILLED to be exploring the Braavosi Coastlands with Varys of NeuteredNomad. BEST FRIEND EVER. We started in the beautiful city of Pentos, famous for it’s super-happy people and metal-collar-and-legchains jewellery, Then we ate delicious local food, staying off the beaten track as much as possible, and generall…
Why Do 95% Of Bloggers Give Up?
…Press.com. One of my duties was trawling through the millions of WordPress.com blogs, looking for quality content. What struck me – and struck me hard – was that the most common type of post went something like this: Sorry I haven’t posted for AGES. Don’t know what to say. (LOL.) It affected me so deeply because that’s how I spent my first 5 years of blogging. It’s astonishing I still have a blog. Back when I first opened Fevered Mutterings v.1 in…
7 Ways To Ruin Your Travel Writing
…nk you. 7. PRESUMING WRITING SKILL IS A TALENT OR A LUXURY And finally, we come to the biggie – the mother and father of all Don’ts when it comes to travel writing. And everyone falls foul of it at some point. It’s a two-parter. (Yes, I’m cheating – which is another good tip, “always cheat”. Well, I digress.) COMMON ASSUMPTION 1: You’re either born a writer, or you’re not. And if you’re not, you either don’t write or you get a job writing for tabl…
Scarborough: Zoltar Is Not Amused
…Tom Hanks. This is why I’m hanging onto my money. (Note for ZoltarMachine.com: if you make one that turns adults into kids, I’d love to experience hair again without taking the Elton John route, so drop me an e-mail.) Zoltar is fierce and proud and largely plastic, and for just £1.00, you can find out what your future holds, as long as it’s covered by his 16 spoken or 2,000 written variations on the theme. Zoltar’s windows need a bit of a clean….
Storytelling – A Beginner’s Guide #6: Are You Making These Social Media Mistakes?
…all time,” according to Stephen Fry. In both these cases, e-mail would be completely the wrong tool to use. Hell, you couldn’t use it. It wouldn’t work. Completely inappropriate. If you’re using social media to support and slyly, carefully promote your best work, it’s terrific. If you want to have a visible marketing presence that is directly tracked by search engines, social media can help (although be aware that social signals don’t appear to b…