Tag Archives | blogging

Ask me a question about travel, India, writing or blogging

expert advice about India travel, writing, blogging I’m now a PivotPlanet expert advisor on travel, India, writing and blogging

As a professional travel writer, blogger and India traveller, I get emails every day from people who want advice. I love hearing from people and I try to answer all of the emails I get (bit of a backlog just now, so if I haven’t answered yours, please be patient — I’m catching up!). Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions, comments or feedback at mariellen [@] breathedreamgo . com.

But if you need more in-depth advice that I can’t answer in an email, or itinerary planning or mentoring, PivotPlanet just might be the solution. I recently applied to become an expert advisor on PivotPlanet, and after submitting an application, and being interviewed, they created my profile on their site. People can contact me through the site to arrange a mentoring session via Skype or even in person. So if you want to be a travel writer or blogger, or if you need in-depth India travel advice, contact me on the PivotPlanet website. Here’s what I cover:

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There’s no place like home

ruby slippers a travel blogger wants to go home

Just click your heels together three times ….

Feeling homesick and ready for change

I feel like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Although I am having wonderful travel adventures and making friends in India, all I keep thinking these days is, “I want to go home.” For the first time in all these years of travelling to India for months at a time, I feel homesick and ready for change. And it happened suddenly

On my first night in Goa, when I couldn’t sleep because of fear and hunger, I suddenly realized: I’m done. I’m homesick, I’m tired of trying to make a living as a travel writer and blogger, I’m tired of travelling with limited funds, I’m tired of the struggle, of TRYING so hard for so little in return, and I want to go back to Canada. Just like that. I don’t know if it was the house I was staying in, or the planetary alignment, or maybe just the timing. But that night in Goa everything changed. Continue Reading →

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Seven Year Itch: My life as a travel blogger

Mariellen Ward: Travel in India, Delhi

The first photo of me in India, taken by Ajay on December 6, 2005 in a park in South Delhi

Reflections on seven years as an India traveller and writer

Seven years ago today I landed in India for the first time, to begin the biggest adventure of my life: six months of travelling alone in an unknown land, in an attempt to recover from grief and restart my life. To say that trip changed my life is putting it mildly. I have a new career, a second home, and a galvanizing passion in life. This blog post is a reflection on my new life as an India travel blogger and the challenges I face. If you think I am “lucky,” please read on. Continue Reading →
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You’ve come a long way, baby

Mariellen Ward of Breathedreamgo in Delhi, India

March 8, 2006: My birthday in Delhi, India

Welcome to the new look of my travel blog

I started my first travel blog in 2005/06 when I was on my first trip to India. This photo, above, was taken at my friend’s place in South Delhi on my birthday, March 8, 2006. Who knew that India would become my second home, my muse and my passion? And who knew that the casual blog I wrote, on Travelblog.org, would grow into Breathedreamgo? In the latest stage in the evolution … I worked with WordPress wizard and all-around awesome guy, Michael Tieso of The Art of Travel Blogging and The Art of Backpacking, on upgrading and refreshing the site. To find out why I needed to upgrade and why I chose Canvas by WOO Themes, continue reading.

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Top 5 niche blogging tips: Love and money

Mariellen Ward, travel blogger, blogging in Bhutan and India

Me, on the job as a travel blogger in South Asia (staying at the gorgeous Uma Paro in Paro, Bhutan)

The Niceties of Niche

This week I am speaking about niche blogging on a panel at MagNet, Canada’s Magazine Conference, along with fascinating fellow panelists explorer/writer Adam Shoalts, food activist/writer Joshna Maharaj and moderator Anick Quin, Editor-in-Chief of Western Living Magazine. My topic is called The Niceties of Niche and it’s on Thursday, June 7 at 4 p.m. This is a condensed version of the points I’ll be making. Continue Reading →

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A great week for Breathedreamgo

And a breakthrough year for travel bloggers

I’ve been travel blogging about India and meaningful travel for about two-and-a-half years on Breathedreamgo, and for several years before that on a previous blog, too.  Slowly, I’ve been building my career as a travel blogger and advocate for travel blogging, and this week feels like a breakthrough week for me — as I think this year, 2012, will be a breakthrough year for travel blogging. Here’s what happened. Continue Reading →

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Breathedreamgo services and consulting

Photograph of Taj Mahal, India

Do you want to stand out online?

Breathedreamgo Consulting offers writing, blogging, social media and travel services

Please contact me if you need any of the services I offer: writing, blogging, social media strategy and India travel and business consulting. And read on to find out how I can help you and/or your organization. Please download a three-page PDF that outlines Breathedreamgo Consulting services.

1. Writing / Blogging

My expertise as a writer spans journalism, feature writing, blogging and copywriting. I have a BA in Journalism and more than 20 years’ experience as a communications professional under my belt. I have written entire websites for banks and mobile phone companies; travel brochures, websites and more travel blogs than you can count; health and financial e-newsletters; magazine and newspaper features; and much more. To see my travel-related portfolio visit the About Mariellen page. For my corporate website, see Mariellen Ward, Online Storyteller. Continue Reading →

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6 years of travel writing and blogging

The moment it hit me I was in India: mosque at Qutab Minar complex, Delhi

The moment it hit me I was in India: mosque at Qutab Minar complex, Delhi 2005

Reflections on 6 years of travel writing

On how I became a travel writer and blogger by throwing myself off the cliff of reason

It was six years ago today, December 6, 2005, that I landed in Delhi, India for the first time. It was Day One of my six-month odyssey; the start of my trip-of-a-lifetime; and the beginning of a new chapter in life, I hoped.

On my first morning in India, I stepped out into the warm December sunshine of my friends’ big, white, marble terrace in South Delhi and felt I had landed in heaven. It was warm, I was surrounded by a loving family and I was finally in India — a place I had dreamed of since childhood, but never thought I would ever see. I felt an immediate affinity with India; it was like going “home.” But I had absolutely no idea where the next six months would lead, what would happen, or what I would get out of the experience. Continue Reading →

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Travel blogging 101

Photograph of Patnem Beach, Goa, India

Photograph of Patnem Beach, Goa, India

How to get started as a travel blogger

Blogging while you travel can enrich your journey in more ways than one. It helps keep your friends and family back home informed, creates a permanent record of your trip and gives you the opportunity to take time to reflect on your experiences. Following are my top tips for getting started as a travel blogger.

First things first – you need to decide where to set up your blog. There are three main options: Continue Reading →

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What it means to breathe, dream, go

moi at the Taj Mahal

moi at the Taj Mahal

Anatomy of a name

I came up for the name of this blog — BreatheDreamGo — in a flash. It was one of those rare moments when an idea hits like a thunderbolt. In fact, it was an epiphany. And after the name dropped into my mind, like a ripe mango, I turned it over and realized it was perfect. It expressed perfectly a philosophy and mantra. Read on to find out more! Continue Reading →

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