In a way, National Geographic is responsible for my interest in both traveling and writing. When I was little, my grandmother would plunk me down in stacks of books and magazines and let me read for hours on end. Those stacks included National Geographics far older than I am — there were even a few from the sixties. One in particular fascinated me: the writer had experienced an adventure any kid would love to share. He had explored a sunken ship full of treasure, something that I still would love to do.

But this post is not just about my memories of thick yellow magazines. It’s about one of fastest ways to improve travel writing skills: reading good travel writing is an absolute necessity to improve your own efforts. Just looking at the articles, books and essays other travelers have turned out offers you models and examples that will help you transform your own writing.

There’s a balance, of course. A good writer has to write as much as anything else. But, just the same, spending time on reading the best travel writing out there makes a world of difference in your work. Personally, I recommend checking out The Best American Travel Writing 2008 (as well as 2007, 2006 and any others you can find). I also asked around on Twitter and got a few other recommendations, ranging from magazines to the true classics of travel writing:

These are just suggestions, of course. But I can’t recommend enough that you add some time for travel reading into your plans for travel writing.