Whenever I visit somewhere new, I often am reminded that while I’m a visitor, other people live here.

Outside my window, palm trees wave in the wind.

Try to find that in Wisconsin. Florida or California yes, but not where I grew up and spent most of my adult life.

We tend to think of our little spheres. Egotistical to the last, our worlds revolve around us.

Yet how much of them do we explore?

Do you know what’s around the corner or across the city?

Even as I marvel at the “normalcy” of a mature palm in my new view, I realize people who live here probably don’t notice it. Because it’s always been there, it’s easy to overlook it — take it for granted.

They live here. Palm trees are just part of the landscape.

 

Long-term visitor

As much as I want to live here — and I am living here — I am not from here. I’m still a visitor at best. Even if I moved here permanently — got my visa, found long-term housing, put down “roots,” so to speak, I would still be a visitor. “How long have you been here?” people would ask. I could measure my time then in months and years, but I still would be from somewhere else.

We do this, though. We try to figure out why people are where they are. Why did they choose a particular place?

“Where are you from?” “How long have you been here?” “Why are you here?”

I’ve met so many people, and those always are the questions we ask each other. Now, I try to branch out. “What’s your favorite part about living here?” “What do you tell people they have to see, do or experience?”

 

Taking it in: Palm trees and all

More recently, I’ve tried to not take anything for granted. I’m not sure of my success. A work in progress, I suppose.

Noticing my surroundings, seeking out what’s around me, mapping my world — that’s part of my daily routine.

When I go back to the States, I’ll be leaving behind palm trees and everything else that makes Portugal what it is. And truly, palm trees are pretty far down that list.

But to this Wisconsinite they mean warm weather, sunny days and no snow. They mean I’m not in Wisconsin, any more.

I’m living in a land — albeit briefly — where palms sway in the wind.

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Be a Better Writer Tip

Choosing a topic to write about is as personal the words you write. It really is most important to you and very subjective.

I can’t tell you what to write.

But I can give you some guidance on how to choose a topic.

1. Let’s start with what you’re writing. Is it a book, how-to magazine article, niche blog post, poem, newsletter, business letter?
2. Then, consider your audience. Are you writing for adults or children? What are your demographics? Age? Gender? Education level? What else you do you know about your audience?
3. What is the purpose of your writing? Is to entertain or educate? Is it just for fun, or to provide valuable information?

Ideally, your writing will do both. How many of us have slogged through a text we had to read, not remembering any of it when we were done? If it was just for entertainment purposes, we wouldn’t bother. But if it’s something we had to read for school or work, we got through it.

Consider the times you’ve read something informational that was also entertaining – it was fun to read and you easily remembered what it was about for a long time after you read it.

Your topic will need to meet the criteria of your particular writing needs, based on style, audience and purpose.

Answer the why

Why do you want people to read what you’re writing? What is your goal? That will be most important.

If you seek to educate, what are topics your audience needs to know about? What questions do they have that you can answer?

This is a key for niche blogs. If you answer your readers’ questions, they will come to you for answers.

I see this often in the travel industry. There are so many travel blogs, but if you find your niche, you can find an audience. For example, there is a blog dedicated to travel in Croatia call the “chasing the donkey.” The author writes about all things related to travel in Croatia — and beyond.

There are other travel writers who also write about Croatia, and many who write about a lot of locations. They travel, after all, and they want to share their experiences with readers. But I bet if you want to know about travel in Croatia, you’d be more likely to go the website that specializes in that topic than one that has links to all of the continents.

So, what is your niche?

Don’t have one? Well, that’s the topic of another post.