After crossing the initial hurdle of putting down words, take a step back and search for any of the following stock words or phrases:

Unless a piece is actually about the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, you shouldn’t call any place a “mecca.” Jewels and gems are shiny rocks, not people, places, or things other than shiny rocks. This list is by no means finite.

This is a common issue with new travel writers, to no fault of their own. There exists so much bad travel writing that these words have become ingrained in our minds. A view is breath-taking, of course. A castle is shrouded in mystery, duh. We say this because we don’t really know how to access our true thoughts or accurately verbalize what’s in our minds.

Don’t be persuaded to talk about a place as others have. Represent a unique experience with unique thoughts. Chances are you don’t think in fake words, so don’t write in them, either.