About Amanda Castleman
Student Comments
Complete List of Writers.com Classes
This genre stretches from Lonely Planet capsule reviews to some of the world's most powerful narrative nonfiction, as modern explorers tackle journeys both interior and exterior.
Writers.com offer three modules. Longtime instructor Amanda Castleman teaches her classic Travel Writing: From Free Trips to Flat Tires roughly four times each year. Students may then progress to Advanced Travel Writing with Edward Readicker-Henderson or Amanda's Ongoing Travel Writing Workshop (with occasional assistance from Edward when she's on the road).
Both instructors have won the genre's ersatz Pulitzer, the Lowell Thomas. The Society of American Travel Writers honored Amanda for adventure coverage (Calm As the Hurricane's Eye) and Edward for cultural tourism (Under the Protection of the Cow Demon). He's also netted multiple mentions in the Best American Travel Writing series.
The glamour of travel writing attracts many people. After all, who wouldn't want free trips to exotic destinations? But it's not all easy living. Journalists must concoct ideas, sell them, plan the trip, research extensively in the field and then craft a gripping article. It's work. Nice work, if you can get it, but a far cry from slobbing on the beach with a margarita.
The ten-week course prepares you to enter this competitive arena. Explore the different types of travel writing, including first-person memoirs, destination guides, historic reflections and news flashes for globe-trotting executives. Learn to devise appealing pitches and target the right editors. Discover the tricks of the trade, from filing taxes to building a journalism portfolio.
Other topics include narrative devices, polishing prose, research techniques and - perhaps the greatest challenge - how to earn a living wage. The class also covers ethical considerations (for example, subsidized trips alienate publications like The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times).
You don't need to be a world traveler to become a "writer about place". Reveal the secrets of your hometown for visitors. Record an exceptional hike or festival. Share family holiday hassles and tips on how to avoid friction. The important thing is to learn how to capture a journey's sensations – even the frustration of a flat tire – then spin them into published work and paychecks.
This course takes you through the process step-by-step, with feedback from the teacher and other students. It can help amateur and seasoned writers alike discover a new voice and inspiration. By the last lesson, you should have a polished draft ready for submission - and be on your way to making vacation a vocation.
CLASS OUTLINE
Class 1 : Specializing
What is travel writing? Controversy. Three catchall categories: inverted pyramid, commentary and features-style. The different facets of travel writing, including essays, adventure tales, destination guides, news briefs, special interest and historic articles. Capturing the moment. Goals and experience. Assignment: Travel journal (500 words or less).
Class 2 : Bright ideas
Generating concepts. Angles. Write what you know. Spotting trends. Press releases. Media kits. Press trip and tour traps. Online options. Research. Travel writing and literature. Guidebooks. Review journal entries. Assignment: Brainstorm ten story ideas (500 words or less).
Class 3 : Selling the goods
Researching your market. Keeping an eye on the competition. Writer's guidelines. Writing succinct and successful queries. Approaching editors. Simultaneous submissions. Writing on speculation. Portfolios. Trappings of the trade. Snail mail vs. electronic pitching. Do you need a Web site? Review story pitches. Assignment: Query letter. Focus on one story idea for development (500 words or less).
Class 4 : Building blocks
Interviews. A colorful palette. Revise concepts. Key volumes. Guidebooks. Online resources. Review query letters. Assignment: Find ten resources for your article (500 words or less).
Class 5: Story structure
Themes. A snappy start. Prioritizing information. Transitions. A strong finish. Sidebars. Review resources. Assignment: Article outline (500 words or less).
Class 6: Writing finesse/ On the road
Errors to avoid. Finishing touches. Fact-checking. Pre-trip research. Planning, but not over-planning. Tools. Cultural sensitivity. Reality versus romanticism. Review outline. Assignment: Begin the rough draft (500 words or less).
Class 7 : Travel photography
The pros and cons of self-sufficiency. Basic composition. Photojournalism versus snapshots. Model release. Equipment: getting started. Lenses. Accessories. Film and slide. Digital. Submissions. Stock shots. Review rough draft. Assignment: Finish the rough draft (500 words or less).
Class 8 : Toning up
Target audience. Viewpoint. Colorful language and metaphor. AP style. Punchy headlines. Short, clear sentence structure. Avoiding word repetition. Writers to emulate. Review rough draft. Assignment: Polishing your article (1,000 words or less).
Class 9 : Ethics and etiquette
Subsidized trips. Freebie ethics. The middle road. The benefits of anonymity. Recycling material. Following up a pitch politely. Dealing with rejections. Courtesy in the face of frustration. Advertising pressure. Coping with rewrites. Review article. Assignment: Prepare package for submission (1,500 words or less). Post questions.
Class 10 : Nuts and bolts
Rates. Syndication. Earning a living wage. Rights. Invoices. Tax and Accounting. Where to go from here: Conferences, organizations and books. Q&A.
Dates for 2009: January 12, April 6, June 29, October 12.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I travel during class?
Students - and the instructor - frequently travel during the course. The lessons and discussions remain online, and late submissions are welcome by special arrangement throughout the ten-week period. The decision should hinge upon your work habits: can you work and focus well on the road? Will you have the discipline to make up assignments back home?
Is the introductory course suitable for experienced writers?
Absolutely. I've taught full-time travel journalists and professionals jumping genres or reviving old skills (including a former Los Angeles Times' staffer). Most find the pitching advice and line-critiques (detailed feedback on assignments) the most valuable aspects, as well as the class camaraderie.
How much time does it take?
The time commitment varies, of course, but students seem to average 30-60 minutes for the reading and at least 60-90 for the assignments (some may be quicker, like the outline). Ambitious students can delve deep via links and articles: some study is self-guided and entirely optional.
Why only one article?
Resources and rewriting separate beginners from the pros. This course addresses the typical weaknesses of fledgling authors.
What sort of success can I expect?
Students have landed work in outlets like Islands, Sunset, National Geographic Traveler, The Independent, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and The Christian Science Monitor, among others. But placement depends on timing, connections and marketing savvy, as much as talent. I work to boost each student up a few ladder rungs from where he or she began. For some, that's publishing a first clip, for others breaking into A-list publications.
I live outside the U.S. Is this a problem?
The class is entirely online with no fixed hours. All you need is a word-processing program, Internet access, a browser and a credit card. A recent session included students from Ireland, Scotland, Prague, India and New Zealand, as well as across North America; such a mix really invigorates the class.
What if I have another question?
Mark Dahlby can answer any queries (writers@writers.com).
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This intensive tutorial focuses entirely on students' works in progress. One may chose to hone three articles, another to sprint through ten pitches. The topic, tone and pace are self-directed. Participants post up to 1,000 words once a week and provide peer feedback. Amanda will line-critique submissions and answer questions, but no formal lectures or exercises accompany this advanced workshop. Participants must be alumni of "Travel Writing: Free Trips to Flat Tires".
Dates for 2009: April 6 and September 28
Suggested texts:
The Best American Travel Writing 2008 by Anthony Bourdain
Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer by Roy Peter Clark
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Taught by a professional writer and a retired Microsoft programmer, these workshops focus on the art and the craft of new media. Instructors Mike Keran and Amanda Castleman offer two dovetailed sessions: a two-week warm-up for those not yet fluent in new media, then an eight-week course that explores the finer points of self-publishing. The courses run on Blogger (lectures, comments) and Nicenet (feedback, calendar, messaging). Students may stop after the first session ($100) or continue ($310 total). The cost for Blogging II alone is $250.
Learn how to set up and brand a blog. Designed for the tech-intimidated, this workshop covers the basics, including posts, links, blogrolls, images, tags and comments. We'll also explore tactics – literary and otherwise –for a strong blog. Two weeks in length, this session can stand alone or springboard beginners into Blogging: Explore the Publishing Frontier.
Week 1: Publishing basics
Why should you blog? History and highlights of blogging; You're not alone – or screaming into the void; Picking a topic; Target audience; Home-court advantage; Bloggers making it work; Successful bloggers who have moved on; Ponder your genre; Naming and branding your blog; What's in a name? The hit list and examples; Choosing a blog host; Anatomy of a blog; Introduction to design principles; Choosing a template; Taglines; Sidebars; How to ask the right questions? How to navigate the site.
Assignment: create a blog and answer these questions in 25 words or less: Why is this blog important? Who cares (target audience)? What skills do I bring to this subject? What community is my blog building? Make at least one post.
Feedback: (Both instructors) layout, writing and tech critique
Week 2: Interactivity – an introduction
Sticky content; Feature original content high; Master the headline; Forging links; How to link; Archiving and permalinks; Blogrolls; Link farms; Comments; Search capacities; Organizing blog material; Should you claim the blog? Pseudonym or not? Kicky bios and other profile tactics; Single author versus group submissions; Private or public blog; Blogger image upload tool.
Assignment: settle on a template, make at least one post including a link and photo
Feedback: (Both instructors) layout, writing and tech critique
More than 133 million blogs lurk in cyberspace now. Discover how to make yours stand out – and earn money. Explore the history of the genre and its future, ethics, syndication and traffic generation. We'll also focus on the literary aspects: developing a distinctive voice, thematic continuity, content pacing and shaping short narrative. We'll touch upon “other voices, other rooms”: adding diversity though interviews, memes, images, links and multimedia. This class provides a blog beginner with the tools to grow more serious.
This unit dovetails with the two-week warm-up course: Blogging: Hang a Shingle in Cyberspace.
Week 3: Interactivity – in depth
Media revolution; Blog stars are born; Ripples outside the pond; Rise of the geek; Genre refinement; Gimme some backchat! Building communities; Comment interaction; Matching design to content; Sidebars; Hitlist; Other image techniques; Widgets; Multimedia; Exposure – yours, interviewees' and readers' (ISP data-harvesting etc.); Who's reading? Intro to Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools; Test blogs.
Assignment: Add Analytics, GWT and make two posts.
Feedback: (Mike) tech critique
Week 4: Strong, Sticky Content is the Key
Bring the context; Writing for narrative or thematic continuity; News vs. features vs. opinion; Content pacing; Mixing original and recycled material; Post "jump-starts" and classic blog formulas; Pseudonym or not? Nurturing voice;
Assignment: Three posts – one 25 words, another 100 words, the last 350
Feedback: (Amanda) writing critique
Week 5: Step Into the Spotlight
Links (internal and external); Page rank; Basics of nabbing high rankings; Introduction to SEO (search engine optimization); Wooing the Googlebots; Avoid the false prophets; Aggregators; Keywords; Technorati and other portals; Blog review sites; Syndication (including RSS feeds); FeedBurner; Social networking; Followers; Twitter; Developing a presence in the blogosphere.
Assignment: Burn your feed, add a subscription/email subscription widget to your blog, claim your blog on Technorati.
Feedback: (Mike) tech critique
Week 6: Mix It Up – Adding Diverse, Original Content
Interviews; Memes; Sourced content; How to access and credit multimedia – or create your own; Introduction to audio, video and podcasts; Integrating other platforms like Facebook and Twitter; Open Source Movement; Redefining intellectual property rights; Creative Commons License; Libel; Slander; Freedom of speech issues; Pitfalls.
Assignment: Incorporate audio or video into a post, either sourced or original.
Feedback: (Amanda) multimedia, marketing, interactivity critique
Week 7: Shaping Short Narrative
Storytelling in the age of content curation; Snappy ledes (starts); Nut grafs; Suspense; Transitions: write the sweet segue; Plot arc; Points of insight; Climax; Denouement; Satisfying conclusions; Envelope ending; Short, clear sentence structure; Colorful language and metaphor; Tips for trimming; Avoiding word repetition.
Assignment: submit a 750-word article on literary techniques in blogging
Feedback: (Amanda) discussion of your article.
Week 8: Advanced Geekery
Deconstructing a URL; Domains and hosting; Do I need a domain? Know your Frenemy; Is dot.com da bomb? Understanding enough FTP and HTML; Advanced Image Placement; Text wraps; Analyzing Analytics.
Assignment: Comment on at least five newly discovered blogs and respond to all feedback left on your site. Monitor statistics, especially referrals, then report on your findings.
Feedback: (Mike) Tech Critique
Week 9: Money Makes the World Go Round
Death of tangible media? Can it pay? Freeconomics; Amazon and other affiliates; How pay-per-click works; Google Adsense; How Adsense interacts with feeds, Google Reader, etc. Display adverts and providers; Newsletters; Listserves; Micropatrons, PayPal and sponsorship; Cafepress and other merchandising opportunities; Blog networks (Gawker, Weblogs, Examiner, etc.); Resources to learn more about SEO (search engine optimization).
Assignment: submit 750 words on a trend in blogging
Feedback: (Amanda) analysis of your article
Week 10: Protecting Content and Yourself
The enemy: Scraper sites and Made for AdSense blogs; Digital watermarks and other plagiarism detection tools; Allowing some content sharing; Strike back at copyright thieves; Don't be a pirate; More ways to be a good cyber-citizen; Derivative works; Images as derivative works; Public domain; Citizen journalism; Growing further; Segueing into "mainstream" media; Book deals; Self-publishing; Blookers; Media convergence; More resources; Q&A
Feedback: (Both instructors) holistic critique
MIKE KERAN retired from Microsoft in his late twenties. For the last decade, he's run a regional nonprofit, been a stay-at-home parent, and worked as a freelance website developer and contract programmer. His clients range from photographers to ski resorts, non-profits to the Univ. of Washington's Climate Impacts Group. This broad spectrum has taught him to clarify tech issues for the uninitiated: a skill now prized by students.
Seattle's still home, where Mike indulges his less geeky pursuits: ultimate, photography, biking, canoeing and raising two daughters. He's fluent in PHP, HTML, CSS and JavaScript; conversant in Perl; and has vague memories of C and C++ from his Microsoft days. Thus Mike can hack templates when students panic. This is a Very Good Thing. His website is www.mikekeran.com.
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AMANDA CASTLEMAN is a freelance journalist, specializing in travel, adventure, the environment and women's issues. Her articles have appeared in The International Herald Tribune, MSNBC.com, Wired, Salon, Italy Daily and The Athens News, as well as the UK's BBC, Guardian and Mail on Sunday. Despite her yoga-and-yogurt appearance, she's a former wilderness guide. Her Honduras dive article won a 2007 Lowell Thomas award (travel writing's ersatz Pulitzer).
A regular contributor to The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Amanda has also worked on 30-odd books, including Greece, A Love Story and Rome in Detail, as well as titles for National Geographic, Frommer's, Michelin, DK Eyewitness, Time Out and Rough Guides.
American by birth, this author spent eight years in Europe. She lived on a traditional narrowboat, moored on the Oxford Canal in England. She also endured two years swilling espresso in Italy, as a Visiting Writer at the American Academy in Rome, then ranged farther afield to Greece, Cyprus and Turkey. Seattle, her native city in the Pacific Northwest, is once again her home base.
She has also worked as an editor, staff writer, graphic and web designer. In addition to Writers.com, Amanda teaches through the Richard Hugo House and Travel Writing Class.com, which offers week-long spring workshops in Rome. Her website is www.amandacastleman.com and she ego-casts further on the blog Road Remedies.
"Amanda is a phenomenal editor and a patient teacher –precise but not nitpicky, critical but not harsh. My writing is clearer and more focused than ever before. I spent eight semesters in creative writing classes at UC Berkeley, and Amanda offered more guidance and carefully directed help than any professor I took there."
Jenny Williams
"Her approach to teaching is clear and concise. I'll not be surprised if one day she writes a book on Travel Writing. ... She is an inspiration, an ideal to aspire to."
James Polk
"Fab experience, again! One word describes Amanda: awesome. Her critiques were thorough, encouraging us to aim for excellence. Her lectures were chock-full of practical advice (and humor) about writing on the road. She is a dream teacher, just the right balance between a knuckle-rapping tutor and a mom full of hugs. Thanks again for Writers on the Net. The course fees are lots cheaper than a shrink!"
Linda Petrucelli
"Amanda manages to establish a rapport with and among her students. It surprised me that I felt more of a sense of community in her classes than I experienced in the live workshops.
"Her teaching style is informal and lighthearted, yet professional and businesslike. I have found her always approachable, flexible, encouraging, and insightful. Best of all, Amanda is a wonderful editor, both sensible and sensitive. I can always understand the rationale behind her suggestions. She helped me immensely to make my writing more concise and effective, and to use my quirks to best advantage.
"Here's the proof: in my first workshop with Amanda I went through all the stages of writing and marketing an article on Magellanic penguins in southern Chile. To have my first article accepted by the first publication I approached –Christian Science Monitor –was like rocket fuel for me, and I have Amanda Castleman's expertise to thank."
Anne Clippinger, PhD
Adjunct Lecturer, Department of English, Montgomery College, Md
"Amanda Castleman leads her courses with thorough precision. She inspires careful attention to detail so that essential elements of the writers' work shine."
Kayla Allen, also published in the Christian Science Monitor during class
"I rate Amanda Castleman's course A+. I finished it last month and promptly sold an article. Amanda is a first-rate instructor who reviews every word of each student's assignment and offers detailed comments in a constructive, supportive way."
Leon Oliver
"After taking her class, I went on to publish a number of travel writing stories and currently have 20 travel assignments due to my favourite editor (Canadian Living's online presence: www.canadianliving.com) before July 1. I started picking up assignments while taking Amanda's class and have kept all my notes for easy reference. Cheers."
Dee Van Dyk
Professional Member
Periodical Writers Association of Canada
Travel Media Association of Canada
"I thought that the class was EXCELLENT and well worth the time and money... The overall structure of the class, literary critique/criticism tied with the "business" end of travel writing, is a great approach... I would definitely recommend this class to friends."
Timmy Williams
"A very generous, knowledgeable person! Amanda was definitely worth every penny. Without your program, my writing would have stagnated. As it is, it remains one of the most important things that I do."
Nina Camic
"I haven't taken Amanda Castleman's class –I already make a living as a travel writer –but because she's a friend, she just looked over a 6,000-word piece I was doing for National Geographic Traveler. Plain and simple, her comments and suggestions were the best I have ever seen from any editor, anywhere. Amanda's a genius."
Ed Readicker-Henderson
Winner of a 2004 Lowell Thomas Award
" She is an excellent teacher, with plenty of knowledge. Most important, with her words and comments, she not only teaches, but inspires... This is my second class already and definitely I will take more. Of course I recommend my classes to friends."
Gabriela Romo
"Amanda Castleman's class is one of the best learning experiences I've had. She was very attentive, offered great and instructive feedback. Within the critiques there were hyperlinks you could jump to to learn more. The learning was PACKED. The class had a lot of energy. She seemed very devoted to her charges and was always extremely helpful. The tone of the class was very warm and friendly and professional. I was very happy with the class content and the instructor. It was a great experience."
Sandra Braden
"Topnotch...excellent balance of being supportive as well as having high expectations I love her genuine, witty humor as well as her creative way of approaching writing. She is extraordinary... I already have recommended Amanda's class to many people. YES! I would take another."
Sandra Kennedy
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About Amanda Castleman
Complete List of Writers.com Classes
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