A Guide to the Ancient Site
Create a detailed travel guide for visiting a historical site, making sure to weave in personal anecdotes, historical facts, and practical advice for future visitors.
Suggested length: An essay or article: 800 to 2,500 words
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Use one example from your own life.
- Open with a specific story, then widen out to the big idea.
- Write for a curious friend, not an expert.
Writing travel books
Somewhere else, seen through someone's eyes.
Travel writing takes readers somewhere they may never go, through the eyes of someone who did. Guidebooks tell you where to eat; travel narratives tell you what the journey did to the traveler.
What readers expect
- A strong sense of place
- A curious, personal narrator
- Encounters with local people
- A journey with a shape
A tip before you start
The trip is the frame; the traveler's change is the story. A list of places isn't a book.
More Travel prompts
- Beyond the Tourist TrailDescribe an off-the-beaten-path location that you visited and explain why it deserves more recognition. Include your firsthand experiences, cultural…
- Alone on the RoadCreate a narrative travelogue about a trip that you took alone, focusing on the role solitude played in your experience. Explore both the highs and…
- The Travel MishapRecount a humorous or challenging travel mishap and how it was resolved. Focus on local interactions, your feelings during the ordeal, and any lasting…
- Meals That Tell a Place's StoryDevelop an essay reflecting on the cultural implications of culinary traditions you encountered while traveling. How did the food act as a gateway to…
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