Edited by Lori Appling in Bethany Beach, DE

"Ghosts, we hope, may be always with us -- that is, never too far out of the reach of fancy. On the whole, it would seem they adapt themselves well, perhaps better than we do, to changing world conditions -- they enlarge their domain, shift their hold on our nerves, and, dispossessed of one habitat, set up house in another."
-- Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973)

TODAY:

• Now's the Time to Start Thinking About Holiday Stories
• Halloween Articles: Where to Find Fodder for Frightful Tales
• Can You Write A Simple Letter?
• This Week's Featured Travel Publication: Mothering Magazine
• Opportunities and Resources for Writers

Dear Reader,

With summer just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about submitting your end-of-the-year holiday articles (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) to publications whose editors prepare their editorial calendars 6 months or even a year in advance.

"I never knew that one of the most feared forms of medieval Scottish torture was to have a bottomless cage containing a rat placed over your stomach. Hot coals were heaped on top of the cage, making the rat desperate to escape. And, of course, the only way it could escape was through the unfortunate wretch's stomach, and out the other side..."

That quote comes from Steenie Harvey's article: "No Children, Pregnant Women, or Heart Conditions," which "International Living" published last October.

To my mind, writing about ghosts, goblins, and graveyards has to be one of the most fun challenges a travel writer can take on. Everyone likes a good mystery and a scary story. Lead in with a campfire ghost tale… add some bones, creaking floor boards, and anything that comes out only at night, and before you know it you've got a 500- or 600-word article.

Turns out haunted houses, ghost tours, and medieval folklore are some of Steenie's specialties. And since it's not too early to start thinking about pitching these types of articles to editors, I've asked Steenie to give us a few pointers about writing them. You'll find her advice below…

Congratulations again to Wendy V. I interviewed her for last week's e-letter (check out the e-letter archives) and just heard she has since sold yet another article.

Showing up is half the game folks!! Get your hands on your keyboard and your articles out there. Find a buddy on the AWAI forum if you need motivation and want somebody to read your stuff before you send it to an editor. It's those little steps -- a query out today, a paragraph written tomorrow -- that will get you from where you are today to really living the travel writer's life.

Let me know if there are any more success stories I've missed. Send me a quick note at lori@thetravelwriterslife.com if you've been published after taking our course or attending a live workshop.

Have a great weekend,

Lori
Director, AWAI's Travel Writer Program

P.S. Know a friend or two who'd enjoy the freedom and independence of a writer's life? They, too, can sign up to receive this free e-letter weekly at: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/eletter

EDITOR'S NOTE:

If you can read this paragraph without laughing, then you've never been to one of our live workshops…

"Standing in the elegant parlor of the Ambassade Hotel is an 18th-century grandfather clock that puts the show back into "showpiece." Hand-painted cherubs, winged horses, and sailing ships crowd the clock face, rocking back and forth on each stroke of the second hand. On every other stroke, a mermaid shoots out of the sea, a trumpet at her lips. The big entrance isn’t typical of this understated hotel, but the sense of surprise is. Springing up in Amsterdam’s canal-scored center, where affordable lodging is hard to find, the Ambassade provides a reasonably priced and supremely civilized accommodation."

Only a select group of students know the inside joke I'm talking about. If you do, then you're one of the people I'm looking for.

If you've attended a live workshop and have since been published, drop me a note about your success at lori@thetravelwriterslife.com. I'd like to feature one workshop attendee a month in upcoming issues of The Write Way to Travel.

HALLOWEEN ARTICLES: WHERE TO FIND FODDER FOR FRIGHTFUL TALES, By Steenie Harvey in Ireland :

I'm lucky -- I have the advantage of living in Ireland. Left spellbound by Celtic enchantments, this is a country where time stands still... where the darkness at the edge of town pulsates with eerie magic... where westerly winds carry the fading whisper of otherworldly voices.

Notice how I'm button-pushing? Spellbound... eerie magic... otherworldly voices. When writing scary stories, the dictionary is full of glorious words that help conjure up that shivery atmosphere you're trying to convey.

*** Ideas for Opening Your Article

For example, here’s how I opened "Season of the Witch: Walpurgisnacht in Germany’s Harz Mountains." Published by "The World & I," the article tells of the area's reputation for mythic weirdness. Goethe set the witches' sabbat scene in Faust on the Brocken, a mountain where witches are still rumored to meet on May Eve.

"Wandering through Germany's Harz Mountains, it's impossible not to realize that you have entered a domain of enchantment, a place where landscape conspires with legend to create a sense of lurking mystery... "

But you have plenty of other shots in your armory when writing these kinds of articles. For example, you could open with a quote, or an old wives' tale. Here's how I did it for "Twilight Places: Ireland’s Enduring Fairy Lore" (again published by "The World and I"):

"In the 1940s, Irish writer Sean O'Faolain recounted a Cork woman being asked if she believed in fairies. 'I do not,' she replied after pondering the question, 'but they're there.'"

Or consider starting your story mid-action. There you are, quaking in a four-poster bed in an ancient hotel in the heart of England. It's the witching hour... the wind is moaning... window frames are creaking and groaning. Is it really a tree branch tapping on the glass or is the headless highwayman putting in an appearance?

*** How to Gather Material Close to Home

Voodoo queens in New Orleans... native American burial grounds... witch persecutions in New England.

You certainly don't have to travel outside the U.S. to find spooky stories.

The easiest place to uncover supernatural shenanigans is obviously your own home town or state. Are any special Halloween events on the town's Events Calendar? Does any inn, hotel, or street have a reputation for being haunted? Do old-timers or shop-owners know any ghost stories? (If there's a New Age-type store in town, this could be a great source.)

And what weird tales lurk in library folklore sections? The more research you do, the more interesting your article is likely to be. I’ve found the further back in time I delve, the stranger the yarns I uncover.

For instance, most people have heard of Irish banshees and leprechauns -- not so many know of the Fear Gorta (Hungry Man). In the 1840s, this emaciated spirit was said to stalk the blighted potato fields. The harbinger of famine, he arises from the Hungry Grass -- patches of land where an unshriven corpse has lain. Tread on such land, and you too may be stricken with insatiable and everlasting hunger.

Victorian writings can be a treasure trove. For that "Twilight Places" article (a major essay of around 5,000 words), my main resource books were W.B. Yeats' "Fairy and Folktales of the Irish Peasantry" and Lady Wilde's "Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms and Superstitions of Ireland." But in a dusty corner of the local library, I came across a lesser-known 19th-century folklorist called Crofton Croker. In a story about kidnapping and changelings, he recounts how a "bit of a shriveled-up fairy" replaces a bonny baby boy. A wise-woman instructs the grieving mother to "take the red-hot poker and cram it down his ugly throat." Great stuff!

*** Don't Miss Grave Digging

Most importantly of all, don’t neglect the local graveyard -- if you can go at night, so much the better. (Again, think of the atmosphere!) Even if you're traveling overseas, don't be fazed by foreign inscriptions. Explain you're a writer and someone is usually only too happy to translate for you.

Here's one of my favorites. In Schierke village in Germany’s Harz Mountains, there's a very spooky inscription on the grave of an apothecary called Willi Druber. Back in 1908, he concocted Schierke Feuerstein, an intensely alcoholic brew made from herbs and bitters. "O Wanderer eile fort von hier, sonst kommt er 'raus und trinkt mit Dir!" The words warn you to hurry away before Willi rises from his tomb and joins you for a drink.

[About the Author: Born in England of Latvian and English parents, Steenie Harvey moved to Ireland in 1988 with her Scottish husband Michael and their daughter Magdalen. Though she has no formal training as a writer, Steenie discovered she had a knack for it when, on a whim, she sent an article about her search for an Irish cottage to a British newspaper... and got a check in return. That was the start of an impressive career.

An accomplished and proven freelancer today, Steenie is "International Living's" roving Euro-editor and also writes about travel, folklore, and real estate for publications both at home and abroad, among them "The Daily Telegraph ," "The Independent," The World of Hibernia," "The World & I," and "Spotlight."

Steenie will be joining Jen Stevens, John Forde, and Rose Burke in Paris this May for our next live Travel Writing Workshop. Reserve your seat in the next six days, and you save with the Early Sign Up Discount. For more details visit: http://www.thetravelwriterslife.com/workshop/bb

THIS WEEK'S FEATURED TRAVEL PUBLICATION:

"Mothering Magazine" publishes educational travel articles under their "Ways of Learning" subject area. The overall goal of the magazine is to provide parents, particularly mothers, with helpful, challenging, empowering, exciting information that will help them be better parents in their own eyes. If you have a travel article that fits into their broader subject matter, send a query to ashisha@mothering.com. Learn more about their guidelines at
http://www.mothering.com/writers/writers-guidelines.shtml

OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES FOR WRITERS:

• The difference between great success and mediocrity is so often a matter of the small things... just a little extra here... a little more there. If you’re falling short of achieving your most important personal goals, get more details about the Early to Rise Goal Setting Check-up Program at: http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/700SDDGC/W700E132/
• THE AWAI FORUM FOR TRAVEL WRITERS -- You'll find this excellent online resource at: http://www.awaionline.com/forum/. It's a place to get answers to your questions, discuss your story ideas, find readers to review your articles, and stay connected to a community of writers.
• You could make $100,000 a Year as a Graphic Designer -- Best of all, there's no daily commute... no boss breathing down your neck…and you don’t even have to be able to draw a straight line (the computer does everything for you). In fact, what used to be a very complicated profession can now be done on a standard computer -- even if you have little or no “artistic” ability at all. Lori H. makes a six-figure income while raising three children at home! And…if you decide this career suits you. We might even give you your first job. Here's how Lori did it: http://www.thedesignerslife.com/lh/tw4
• For These Proprietors, Success Means Grossing $1 Million a Year… Last December, Michael Masterson lead a small group of ambitious AWAI students through a pilot program designed to turn them into savvy direct-response entrepreneurs. The goal? To gross $1 million or more a year. It’s working. And now the program is open to all AWAI students. Visit:
  http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/700SCBMO/W700E130 for details.
• Recommended Reading: "Too Lazy to Work, to Nervous to Steal: How to Have a Great Life as a Freelance Writer" by John Clausen: http://tinyurl.com/2k2cw
• Recommended Reading: "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser: http://tinyurl.com/2fgv4

The Write Way to Travel is a FREE weekly newsletter from the American Writers & Artists Institute, available to AWAI students and friends.

© 2004 American Writers & Artists Institute

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