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| Charie Albar |
Charie Albar has been traveling solo for many years and loves art, architecture, languages and meeting new people. She writes for her blog, Travels with Charie and has contributed travel articles to Manila Bulletin – USA, FilAm Star, Sunstar, Daily Guardian Iloilo, Travel Lady, Capiz Times and WaytoGo.ph, the digital magazine of Cebu Pacific Air. She graduated from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in French. In 2006, she founded Balay ni Charie Foundation, a grassroots organization, that continues to provide school supplies to children in her home province of Capiz, Philippines. Aside from travelling and charity work, Charie writes her travel chronicles on her blog, Travels with Charie.
For our second installement of our #FridayNightWritersSeries, I bring you Charie Albar…
1. How did you
discover that you have the passion and the talent for travel writing?
There’s a quote that explains how I started writing. Ibn Battuta, a medieval Moroccan scholar and explorer once said, “Traveling leaves you speechless and then turns you into a storyteller”. I became a storyteller after traveling a few times to Europe. My blog, TravelswithCharie, was and still is my journal and travel guide. When my travel articles were published by Fil-Am newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area, I was more motivated than ever to write about my travel experiences.
2. What do you
usually do when you write? Could you share with us your routine when you’re
writing one of those articles?
First off, I gather all the photographs I took of a place I recently visited and decide what I should write about. Should I write about the people I met, the architecture, the food, the markets or the art? Sometimes the article will focus entirely on a poem like I did for the Chateau de Chillon in Switzerland. Or if you read my article on the paintings of Carlos “Botong” Francisco at the National Museum, you’ll notice it’s all about the historical context of his canvasses.
This brings up the aspect of research, an important part of my writing routine. I always read up on a place or piece of art or architecture, etc. before I start writing. I strongly believe that writers have the responsibility to share accurate information. In researching the works of Botong Francisco as an example, I was disappointed that there wasn’t much written about the nuances of his style nor his creative process. I did, however, find a lot of articles about his life. I tried to get copies of books about him and his works but there are too few and are out of print. As I’m not an expert on Philippine art, my article didn’t dwell on Botong Francisco’s style but rather on the local history he illustrated in his canvasses.
Research also includes reading the articles of other writers who have been there before you. This helps in providing a different angle to your story. You really don’t want to write about the same things. You need to go off grid, find something new so you can grab the attention of your readers.
The third most important part of my writing routine is editing. I review my work too many times until I get so tired of it. And even after I’ve posted it and later find an error in spelling or grammar, I correct it. This is the beauty of blogging. You can correct, change and update the post until you’re satisfied with it. Sometimes when I read an article from online publications and see errors, I wonder why they don’t take the time to correct them. But that’s just me.
3. You’ve been
blogging for many, many years now. Could you tell me what aspect of writing
makes you the happiest or most fulfilled?
I’m happiest when the piece I’ve written has been posted. I can then move on to my next article.
4. You’ve been
writing a lot about the places you have visited. I bet you’ve already been to
six continents, right? How do you to transform those travel experiences into
words? What do you usually think when you write about a place that you’ve been
to?
Yes, I’ve been very lucky to have traveled as much as I have. I’m always thinking and planning for the next travel adventure. Sometimes my prose flows when writing about a certain place. But the reality is, I’m frequently stumped about how and where to begin. Sometimes, you need to let the photographs speak for themselves. As cliché as it might be, a picture speaks a thousand words. And I believe this. That said, I’ve posted articles with photographs only and refrained from too much commentary.
5. If you’re going to
write a travel memoir, what three places would you write about and why?
I’ve actually written a travel memoir which is a compilation of my travel experiences over the years. It remains unpublished. I think the narrative about my meeting with a Filipina domestic worker in HongKong is an ode to the plight of our OFWs. The discovery of our family crest in Madrid which preceded my trip to Granada and our journey to the USA are both eye-openers tinged with nostalgia.
6. What tips could
you give to aspiring writers or bloggers?
Read as many books and articles as you can on the subject you wish to write about. This will enrich your vocabulary and help you define your writing style. Always check your work for grammar, typos and misspellings. Ask yourself who you are writing for - what age group, what nationality, what niche (academic, scientific, religious, lifestyle, etc.). If you want to be a travel writer, you don’t need to travel far from home to find something of interest in your neck of the woods. My best travel discoveries were right here in Capiz and ensuing articles were published by local newspapers. Happy writing!
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The Friday Night Writer’s Series is a new project in this blog to connect established and successful writers with my students and readers to inspire them to ignite their creativity and pursue their passions.
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