How to Take Better Notes for Travel Writing

Great tips. Thanks! I’ll especially remember the advice on recording emotions.

Concise, simple and incredibly useful!
Thanks:)

Nice article.I don’t know what I would do without my travel notebook. Here’s a couple things I do that people might find useful.

One, taking a moment to make a quick sketch helps me see more than I would if I just saw something and jotted a quick description down.

Two, being specific about dates, places, and times makes it easier to match up entries with photographs.

I particularly like the last one – in my case photography…

I pick up things that will help me remember stuff later ~ business cards, coasters, brochures, napkins, etc. I cut off those plastic bracelets that are snapped around my wrist for entrance into various events and keep those. I store all this stuff with my handwritten notes in my journal.

Great suggestions – I definitely need to start thinking like a writer instead of a tourist when I travel!

Great tips! It makes sense to take sensory notes when traveling since it’s smart to use the senses in travel writing. Thanks for the advice.

Great article! I do the same thing that JoAnna does – I always carry a few extra (large) Ziploc baggies with me to hold all the things I pick up – business cards, menus, brochures. I get two copies of everything whenever possible – 1 on which I jot notes at the time (circling dishes I liked or disliked, etc), and the other I keep clean to photograph later to accompany a story….. And of course I never go anywhere without my little notebook & flip cam!

Great tips on taking notes when we travel. Picking up local newspaper or some travel information can help you recall the places you visited. Keep ticket stubs, napkins, match books, brochures, post cards, business cards, flyers, and any other print material you collect as you travel. If you are attending a festival like the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival, pickup a catalog because it will list all of the events. It will help you to remember the performances.

Make sure you get a business card from your travel guides or ask for their contact information. If you forget something, you could always ring him or her to “fill in” the blanks. Photos can help you recollect the way you felt when you came upon that tiny village and how the people embraced you as one of their own.

My parents and grandparents left behind notes taken while traveling. The only aspiring writer, I never take any. Whoops. But while theirs are matter of fact and uninteresting, my impressions never seemed to fit a written page. In the moment, I fool myself into relying on memory. Whoops again. Thank you for the tips. Freed of the structure of complete sentences, I’m sure I can try again, and successfully.

Very helpful tips — short and to the point!