[This post is from the weekly Write Your Way Around The World Newsletter – full of travel writing tips, insights and resources for writers – to subscribe to the newsletter for free: visit lauramcveigh.Substack.com]
If you’re here, it’s because something inside you says write. It’s because you have a nomad soul. Or because you love the beauty and complexity of the world around you and you want to share that with others through the written word. Maybe you’ve travelled to many countries, or maybe your biggest journeys so far have been closer to home. Or you’re just curious. Either way, welcome.
This week’s focus is simply about believing your voice belongs here.
Someone mentioned to me earlier this week that they’d spent years holding back on their writing. I felt that. Years ago when I was a student, I’d taken part in an online writing course — I remember vividly having written a short story, having taken care over it, worked on it, polished it, before submitting it.
The group feedback was resoundingly positive — except for the course leader. His response was a withering off-hand,“It’s not a story.” No explanation, no guidance. Nothing. I didn’t write fiction again for years. This stranger’s voice stayed in my head.
But then later I began to write. I trusted in my voice. I saw my fiction being published and translated, tuned into my love for place and travel alongside my novels, authored travel books for Lonely Planet and DK Travel. With bylines in national press, working on new book projects, carving my own writing path and a creative career I love, I always remember that pivotal moment.
It could have been the end of writing for me. Instead I chose to bet on myself, on my voice. I’m learning all the time, I don’t have all the answers, but I am thriving. I don’t know what became of that course tutor; if he ever wrote anything halfway worth reading. Maybe, maybe not. But I’m sharing this to say:
The world needs your stories.
Don’t feel intimidated or like everyone else already has it all figured out. They don’t. All writers have moments of doubt and struggle. It’s part of the process.
We don’t just need travel stories from journalists on assignment. Nor glossy insta-perfect itineraries of ‘must-sees’ from influencers or digital nomads — lovely as those can be.
Because here’s the truth no one tells you early enough in your writing life:
Travel writing is not just about where you go, or how grand the adventure. You don’t need to be travelling to remote places or doing unusual things.
It’s about how you see—and how you help others see. It’s about believing in yourself, in your voice, and sharing that.
Why Travel Stories Matter Now More Than Ever
We live in a time of increasingly closed borders, rising nationalism, algorithmic echochambers, and, at times, dangerous simplifications of entire countries and cultures.
Thoughtful, authentic travel writing is a quiet act of resistance. It is about being open to the world around you.
It shows nuance.
It listens more than it explains.
It cuts through all that noise and interference.
It builds bridges between people who might otherwise never meet.
In a world driven by speed, your carefully-crafted stories slow things down. They let readers journey with you. See what you saw. Wonder what you wondered. Ask questions they didn’t know that they had.
Think You’re Not a “Real” Travel Writer? Think Again.
“But I’m not a real travel writer…”
I hear this a lot from writers starting out.
Just remember: You don’t need to be published in a glossy magazine or flown to a luxury resort on a press trip to be a travel writer. Nice work if you can get it though! You don’t even need to leave your country.
If you can move through the world with curiosity, pay attention, and write what you truly feel —you’re already most of the way there.
What you may need is support, guidance, and a bit of structure to help you shape your experiences into publishable stories.
If so, if that’s you, then that’s what this newsletter—and this entire space—is for.
What You’ll Learn Here — Every Tuesday
Every Tuesday in Write Your Way Around The World, I share:
- Practical guidance on writing craft, pitching, editing, and freelancing
- Encouragement for staying resilient and consistent as a writer
- Real talk about money, mindset, rejection, and career-building
- Inspiration from great travel writing and emerging trends
- Resources to help you go further, faster
Future weeks will dig deep into how to make a living doing this, how to get published, how to find your niche/s or not (just write what you love), how to turn your travel notes into paid work.
But for now, just one thing:
The world doesn’t need perfect travel writers who have it all figured out. It needs writers who can write what they see, what they feel about it, what it means to them. People who can write with humanity and love.
And if you’re still reading, you’re already on the right path.
Ready to Begin?
Here are 3 things you can do right now:
- Download your freebie: Audio Masterclass on how to Break into Travel Writing 2025 – this quick listen guide (hosted on Podia, it’s an overview + 7 short audio lessons) will help you uncover what makes your voice unique, get you started writing, understand writing myths, blocks to writing and common mistakes, as well as help you put together a mini-portfolio and even start pitching.
- Check out the Starter Kit (100 pages comprehensive guide) or Pitch Pack (focused on pitching skills, sample templates, story generation models): These are practical action-based guides written by an experienced writer, for new and returning writers who want to publish more, pitch with confidence, and make a solid plan of action to get there.
- Hit reply: Tell me where you’re writing from and what you’re working on. I read every message.
Next week, I’ll share: “Your Writing Life Blueprint” — a simple plan to help you finally take your writing seriously and to chart a path that works for your writing interests and strengths.
Laura McVeigh is a Northern Irish novelist and travel writer. Her work is widely translated. She has authored books for Lonely Planet, DK Travel, bylines in the Irish Times, Irish Independent, featured by BBC, Newsweek, The i Paper, New Internationalist & many more. She is Founder of Travel-Writing.Com and Green Travel Guides. Laura writes on storytelling, travel writing and mindful travel on Substack.