Thursday, March 30, 2017

Ideas for New Names

Fernweh
- means: An ache to get away & travel, to a distant place, a feeling ever stronger than wanderlust

Hireath
- means: Home sickness for a home you can't return to.

Eudaemonia
- means: the contented happy state we feel when we travel.


Ramé

- means: Something that is both chaotic & joyful at the same time.

Wanderlist
- means: A list of travel based activities and sights you want to experience.

Right now I'm leaning towards Wanderlist and Fernweh, but I'm going to see how both words look on the cover & will make my decision after that. 

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Getting Started On The Content

I know I'm going off task (technically I'm still on task because I'm still working on my project, but off task because I'm not working on the aspect I should be 😬) but today I wanted to focus on learning how to write a travel article. I wouldn't say I'm the best writer, but I wouldn't say I'm bad either. I've read a couple articles and learned some tips on how to write my article and started making a sort of outline which will be shared when it is done.

On Writer's Digest, I was looking to get some tips and reading the article, "Breaking into Travel Writing: The 5 Elements of Writing Travel Articles" on how to write a travel article when I was introduced to this checklist. Now, it's not a very detailed, very specific set of guidelines, but I think it'll be handy to make sure my article meets its full potential. I have now decided that the main story will be a testimony as I briefly mentioned in my last post, and obviously since it has to tie into the cover image, it will be about Maui, Hawaii (the setting of the image).

So... I just realized I hadn't even told you guys that I chose my final image!!! I decided going with the more adventurous choice:
Like I've said before, this image is still subject to some changes. For example, I am planning on focusing the subject either the left or right third, enhancing the colors, and sharpening up a little bit.













Back to what I was saying about writing the content. The focus will be Maui, Hawaii. I have not yet chosen if I will do it from my own point of view but acting as if someone else is telling the story, or interviewing one of my parents who came on the trip, and doing the article from his or her point of view. I think making them my subjects would diversify the magazine a little bit because I'm already in full control of the rest of the writing (headlines, titles, table of contents, images, any extra writing, etc.). Another person would give it a different touch. I am conflicted, though, because interviewing them will take a lot more time than just writing what is at the top of MY head. Putting my thoughts into words will definitely be less of a challenge than taking someone else's and putting it all together.

I want my writing to evoke a sense of curiosity, adventure, and contempt. It will be specific and sophisticated, while still fun & personal. In order to do this I found more tips. For example, using dialogue. "10 tips for writing travel articles" says, "Dialogue brings a scene to life, gives personality to the people in your story, & allows you to convey important information in a punchy way." I will make sure to include some in mine.

Lastly for the night, I will let you guys know (in all caps so you can feel my fury):
I JUST FOUND ANOTHER TRAVEL MAGAZINE CALLED 'WANDERLUST TRAVEL MAGAZINE.' YES. WANDERLUST. LIKE MINE. I HADN'T THOUGHT TO CHECK IF THERE WAS ANY OTHER MAGAZINE WITH THAT SAME TITLE... SO NOW WERE BACK TO SQUARE ONE. I GUESS I WILL HAVE TO SLEEP ON A NEW NAME. IM ANNOYED. GOOD NIGHT READERS.


currently.

Layout/Content Ideas

While doing my cover I realized how important it is to know your content, for it is reflected on the first page of your magazine. This is making me jump a little back and forth in my schedule because now I have to focus more on what's going to be inside, taking me to the 2-page spread, and back to the title... I'm getting overwhelmed!!


I've started to look more into what I will be writing about and how. I don't know what I want my main story to be about... or anything else in the content, really. This has me pretty stuck because without an idea of this, I can't proceed to start my headlines. Here are some ideas I have so far:


  • A poll 
    • Options: Favorite island, Favorite type of vacation (surfing, skiing, sight-seeing, etc.) 
  • A testimony
    • I'm thinking this would be the main story, as well as a monthly feature. It is something the audience looks forward to. This one would include a lot of visuals and the written story as well, of course. 
While looking at other travel articles and their layouts, I picked out somethings I like and don't:
This one, for example, is one that I don't like. First of all, the pictures don't match. It looks messy and not simple to understand at all. The pictures are so close together and so crowded, and the captions under just maximize that cramped feeling. I would not want to read this, nor do I think that my audience would. I want something simple & enticing. 



This layout is a little better, yet still not what I'm looking for. In this one, the images work well together, as well as the font and image colors... the one thing that throws me off, though, is the positioning of the writing and the images. Yes, they both look clean and organized but they are too separate for my liking. I'd prefer the images to be more embedded in the story and spread throughout rather than completely separate from the content itself. This looks more like a book to me... so this layout is discarded as well. 

Now here's a little something I do like. This story is pretty much how I imagine mine being.. the color scheme works beautifully & the images are spread throughout the story with good sized captions. The content itself is easy to follow, the headlines are short & grab attention but aren't too cheesy. 2 thumbs up for this layout! :) Definitely what I will be using as my guideline.