Saturday, 16 February 2013

Blog research and another lecture


Researching some different blog platforms after the next lecture was interesting, as I found out that ‘Blogger’ for example is free. The website gives information about what a blog is; it’s a personal diary, a collaborative space, a collection of links and somewhere to share your own private thoughts. Bearing all this in mind, I reflected on my blog so far, and was happy about the progress I’m making with it. So after finding all this out, I created a Blogger account for myself, and the birth of my online blog began.

We discussed the travel options for a trip and how we were to be assessed on the planning and organising of it. I was beginning to look forward to cracking on with it, as it’s my mum and me who research destinations for family holidays, so was ready to put my researching skills and knowledge to the test.

Anyway, the lesson was fun as we could write a travel piece about somewhere we’ve visited. Choosing Florida, Disney was the destination I decided to share. Feedback from my lecturer was helpful, as he shared pointers, and so by taking these on board, I re-wrote the piece for homework, bearing in mind a particular audience, tone and style, all of which are important factors.


Here's the travel piece I wrote on Florida:-


Its super real atmosphere and the way the characters and magical atmosphere are presented through images and videos, cleverly entices children to beg their parents to take them there; to take them to the land of Disney. Therefore their parents have to go, but more often than not, it’s the parents who are the ones enjoying the rides and shows with Mickey and his friends.
No matter how old you are, the idea of visiting Mickey and Minnie is always one which brings happiness. Even though you know they’re only people dressed in costumes, you enter a world of fantasy, wonder and make-belief, and so being in Florida is a magical experience whatever your age.
It’s as if everything in the real world is put aside for the few days that Minnie, Donald Duck and Tinkerbell take over and are the friends you wish you could take home. Well, that is if you are a child, and yes, I know I’m 21 years old, but I still love Disney and everything about it. It’s the way you queue up outside her house and you know that her red and black dress and big mousey ears will be on view any second and then the hug will be well worth the wait. That is, even though I know she’s a person in a mouse costume.
The happiness that instantly fills your heart when you step into Magic Kingdom, Florida is astonishing and if you’re an adult, you have the chance to feel like a child once again. 


I learnt that the style and content of travel pieces isn’t prescriptive, and that the beauty of this genre is in having the ability to write about what the writer fancies, whilst incorporating a sense of place and adopting some sort of tone. I researched styles of travel writing when at home, and found that characters, places, actions and emotions can be presented if the writer chooses to explore their use, and that the writing can be brisk and staccato, or can have a relaxed tone as if someone is lounging in the garden.

My lecturer advised us to challenge ourselves and try different styles of travel writing, as there’s no penalty if it goes wrong. Remembering the way I recounted the adventure I had in Keswick, an earlier entry, I thought about how it incorporated a comical aspect, a more light hearted tone.

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