Some days, it feels as though the world is going to heck in a handbasket, as my grandmother was fond of saying. When things feel hopeless and you feel helpless as you continue on this journey toward being a published freelance travel writer, I believe that following through on a list of self-care rewards will be the ticket away from the heck and into the happy:

Over the years, I’ve pointed out quite a few things that novice writers should stop doing to exponentially improve their chances of getting published — and so here are four essential things to consider when writing a travel story that will greatly increase your chances of getting published.

Travel isn’t just about the fabulous, seamless experiences, right? It’s also about the terrible times when things go wrong. Here are a few tips for putting the unpleasant into perspective, and your story.

We have the same number of hours as everyone else – even people who have accomplished extraordinary things. There’s nothing stopping us from doing the same, except that we fritter away our most valuable resource: time. Here are some things to look at in your life to see where you might be wasting that most precious commodity.

Starting something new, something you’ve never done before, is hard and scary and often quite confusing. But the only way to succeed is to do the work. Here are some thoughts on how to look at your future as a travel writer.

Passive voice is the hallmark of a novice writer, because it’s easier to write and often sounds more “formal.” However, most of the time, it weakens your story and lacks passion and movement. Here’s how to identify passive construction and make it active.

The lede of a story sets it up so that readers get a sense of what to expect, and it also sets its tone. Here are some tips for crafting a lede that really draws in readers, along with some excellent examples of ledes that work well.

Sweeping generalizations are the hallmark of bad writing, and while there certainly are times when you don’t need to go into excruciating detail, for the most part, the deeper you dig to find the best words, the better your story will be.