12 – 19 September, 2010

There is no better way to learn travel writing than on a trip. After learning what makes a good travel writer and good travel writing during morning workshops, you will be free each afternoon to explore Savusavu in search of ideas and stories about the geography, culture, sociology, anthropology, religion, cuisine, language, history, and all other aspects of this fascinating area.

The morning sessions also will focus on the practicalities of travel writing, such as how to get started, how to research a destination before going, what to look or while you are there, how to develop “slants” for your articles, and how to pitch your ideas to editors, both in print and on the Worldwide Web.

During the morning sessions and at the end of each day you can read your writings and get feedback both from Bill and from your fellow classmates over drinks. You can present your major article on the final day for review and critique.

Bill Goodwin has been a traveler and a writer all his adult life. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he won three American national collegiate news writing awards and was inducted into Kappa Tau Alpha journalism honorary society.

After graduation he traveled widely in the Far East as an officer in the U.S. navy. He later received awards for his news reporting for the Atlanta (Georgia) Journal, which dispatched him to Washington, D.C., as a political correspondent covering the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. While there he earned a law degree at The George Washington University and served as a writer and attorney on the staffs of two United States Senators.

In mid-life Bill and a friend sailed a yacht from the east coast of the U.S. to Tahiti, where he disembarked and proceeded to travel for 18 months in the South Pacific islands, New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia. His newspaper and magazine articles about those travels led to a contract to write the first edition of Frommer’s South Pacific, which he wrote in 1986 and has updated every two years since. Frommer’s Fiji and Frommer’s Tahiti & French Polynesia sprang from that book.

In addition he is the author of Frommer’s Virginia and for several years was co-author of Frommer’s Florida. He has edited several other Frommer’s guidebooks, and he compiled the first edition of Frommer’s USA.

His articles have appeared in Australian Seacraft, Pacific Islands Monthly, Sail, Motor Boating & Sailing, Sailor’s Gazette, Islands, International Living, The Miami Hearld, the Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, and Destination Discovery (the programming magazine of The Discovery Channel).

He is a member of the Authors Guild (the leading association of published authors in the United States), American Independent Writers, and the Freelancers Union.
(www.billgoodwin.com )

Itinerary at a Glance
The course runs for 6 days, and includes both workshops and visits to local places of interest. We may alter the programme during the week depending on weather / local opportunities / group interests.

Sunday 12 September
Fly to Nadi and on to Savusavu. Drinks and welcome.

Monday 13 September
9:30am -11:30am: Introduction to the realities and myths of the travel writing life. What makes good travel writing. How to get started. Resources available. Finding your niche.
Afternoon: Free time.
4pm: Tapa demonstration
6pm – 7pm: Drinks, reading and feedback
7pm: Dinner

Tuesday 14 September
9:30am -11:30am: Care and feeding of editors: Finding out who they are, what they want, and how to give it to them. Understanding the markets. Developing article ideas and a fresh point of view. Story ideas in Savusavu.
Afternoon: Visit to Savusavu town and J. Hunter Pearls
6pm – 7pm: Drinks, reading and feedback
7pm: Dinner

Wednesday 15 September
9:30am -11:30am: Writing the article: This is not a diary of your trip!
Afternoon: Beach trip or alternative activity such as waterfall hike.
6pm – 7pm: Drinks, reading and feedback
7pm: Dinner

Thursday 16 September
9:30am -11:30am: The business side of the business. Do they really pay you to travel? How to survive when they do not.
Afternoon: Visit school for disabled children in Yaroi village.
4pm Visit to Fijian village for meke (traditional dance)
6pm – 7pm: Reading and feedback
7pm: Diner

Friday 17 September
9:30am -11:30am: The “long form” of travel writing: Breaking into guidebooks and travelogues. Self-publishing if necessary.
Afternoon: Beach outing
6pm: Drinks at Savusavu Yacht Club and dinner
7pm: Dinner

Saturday 18 September
9:30am -11:30am: Reviewing, critiquing and rewriting: A chance to review and refine your article.
Afternoon at leisure.
7pm: Final dinner and farewell ceremony.

Sunday 19 September
Depart Savusavu and Fiji