Immerse yourself in a specific place to write about it
from On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser
How to Apply This
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Travel often to the place you intend to write about.
This will help you figure out the qualities that make the place distinctive. -
Ask custodians of the site questions that will reveal more about the place.
For example, find out why they think two million people a year visit the mountain in their village. -
Be enthusiastic about the place
Convey what you enjoy most about the place and what makes your impression of the place different from others. -
Choose your words carefully.
Avoid using countless cliches such as “attractive”, “charming”, and “beautiful” to describe places. Rather, state the things that make the place charming. For example, “the town has the largest natural lake in the province”. -
Find the central idea or distinctive traits of the place you are writing about.
Focus on more recent happenings such as a recent discovery of diamonds. -
Give precise images that will make the readers feel they are there.
For example, describing a neighborhood as a place where different nationalities could exist within a single block, or describing a school where “every classroom had ten kids who spoke no English”. -
Write about human activity.
Human activity is what brings a place alive.
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