Although it is not documented in any history books or at the fabulous library in his honor in Springfield, Illinois, I believe that Abraham Lincoln must have been a freelance travel writer.
The basis of my historical observation comes from a famous Lincoln quotation: “You may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”
This is on my mind as my first story appears in the May/June issue of Arrive, the Amtrak Magazine. The Detours column of this publication, which is read by business travelers in the northeast United States, highlights things to do when business travelers are not doing business.
However, it has been said that 90 percent of our nation’s business takes place on the golf course. I don’t know about that since I don’t golf, but fortunately for me, the editor at Arrive magazine is one person who does at least a percentage of his time in a typical conference setting. That’s where I met this editor, at a writer’s conference, and that’s how I ended up with my by-line under the headline Matter of Course, which highlights six unique golf courses in the northeast.
One might wonder then, how a writer from the Midwest who doesn’t play golf handled such an assignment.
In my case, our good friend Scott Parish helped me out. Scotty once produced a television show about golf and, in so doing, traveled to some of the best courses in the world. He knows all of the lingo, the jokes and the history that is needed to make a story sound rich and authentic. Scotty and I brainstormed about the courses to include. He explained the terminology and proof-read my story.
So a good travel writer needs to know a little about a lot, or have connections to the people who know a lot about a specific topic. More so, a good travel writer can’t be afraid to ask questions, lots and lots of questions, and can’t be afraid of any destination or assignment.
Click on this link, Arrive, and see if the words Scotty and I put together were enough to fool at least Abraham Lincoln and you, at least this one time.
That’s the story behind this story.
After creative spirit it would seem a writer’s next most important tool is resources and research. It seems as a travel writer that the people you meet and relationships you build are every bit as important as the information you collect. I think that is awesome.
Sometimes it isn’t what you know but who you know…connections are important.