
Hi Tim and thanks for stopping My Year of Getting Published.
1. Did you always want to be a writer? How did you get started in writing?
First I wanted to be a fisherman. One of my earliest memories, from toddler times, is of proposing to a girl named Emily. We were eating green grapes and sugar cubes, and I told her I wanted to get married, but that I was going to be a fisherman, and was that OK with her? Happily, Emily accepted. I haven't seen her in almost 20 years though. Wonder how she's getting along.
The first stories I wrote were about fishing and animals. I idolized a fishing writer named Ray Bergman, who wrote for Outdoor Life magazine and died in the late 1960s. At age 8 my friend Brendan Wenzel and I wrote and illustrated an ambitious book entitled "A Field Guide to North American Mammals." I saw Brendan last week, actually - he's now an artist who sculpts giant animal puppets out of styrofoam and lives in Brooklyn with an albino hedgehog. So we're both chasing our dreams.
I've always loved to read, and had some talent for writing, but it wasn't until I tried a "real" job that I decided to take on writing professionally. It's a lot of work, but the thought of going back to a desk makes my blood run cold. My travel writing career is still three words that are difficult to say without choking, but I'm happy eating beans and rice and buying one new shirt every other year, so maybe I'll make it in this profession after all.
2. What do you consider your first "break" as a travel writer?

3. What advice would you give to someone who is considering going into travel writing? Any tips to breaking into newspapers and magazines?

Discipline is vital. Write every day. If your computer breaks, write long-hand. If your hand breaks, hold the pen between your teeth and write that way. If you swallow the pen, bash your face against a wall until your nose bleeds and smear words on the paper with the blood. Write, write, write.
Don't be discouraged by rejection letters or editors who ignore your polished submissions. Persistence is the second most important thing, after discipline. Keep at it. When you get a reply, latch onto that poor editor like an African honey badger and don't let go until she changes her address or publishes your work. When you do get published, treat yourself to one wild night on the town, set your alarm for 7 am the next day, and get up and start writing again. Ernest Hemingway probably said that the test of a true writer is whether or not he will write hungover.
Magazines and newspapers? Good luck. Start online. Get yourself a blog - they're easy and fun. Submit to online travel magazines. I love MatadorTravel.com, an up-and-coming travel community that pays for quality travelogues and just launched a "Bounty Board" feature, with a list of assignments in need of writers
4. What do you see as the future for travel writers in the printed media and online ?
The Internet is simply amazing. Anyone can publish Anything to Everyone from Anywhere, Anytime. There's just no way for traditional print media to compete with that. By the time I'm old and gray, very few people will still read print newspapers. My Mom says she hates reading on a screen, but my generation is different - we're growing up on facebook.com. Online is where it's all going. Already, you'll find some great travel writing on the Internet - check out sites like Worldhum, Perceptivetravel, Bravenewtraveler and MatadorTravel.
5. As a writer and traveler, what are the biggest challenges you face on the road ?
I was thinking about this question for a little while...and realized that my biggest challenge so far hasn't been on the road - it's been coming home. When I'm traveling, even when I find myself in a pickle - like the time Ryan and I ran out of water and food on a wild Cambodian island and were menaced by men with hatchets and AK-47 rifles - it's all part of the adventure. Strange as it may seem, the toughest part is being home, seeing my family, hanging out with old friends and wondering what the heck I'm doing with my life.
I can hike 5 miles through the jungle on a pack of ramen and some coconut milk, but I can't pet my cat without wondering if I should settle down and plant a garden and go to law school. Funny, isn't it. On the road, I'm just on the damn road, and life is wonderful.
6. Finally, what is your favorite place and why ?
This is impossible to answer, but let me try:
My favorite place is on the edge of a cliff, at sunset, or sunrise, with someone I love, and enough food and water to last us a day or two. The tent is rigged snug, our air mattresses are plump and our down sleeping bags are dry. There's a peak to climb, with snowfields to slide down, and a river below, with big, innocent trout in it. We have nowhere to be, and can build a fire if we need one.
If you're looking for destinations - here are some favorite places.
1) You Sabai - the best little cooking school in Northern Thailand
2) Salt Cay in the Turks and Caicos Islands - my family's secret island
3) Craftsbury, Vermont - the most wonderful community in New England
4) Luang Prabang, Laos - the most romantic town in Asia
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