Writing articles for journals is hard work. I am currently grappling with this now - trying to work out what the magazine audience might want. Alas, I am not the most concise or erudite of people.
The audience are small boat sailors and dinghy cruisers. I've just submitted two articles - a part one and part two about a recent voyage up the Lynher and Tamar rivers close to home.
I think that a good recount article (in this instance) should have a clear start middle and end; be anecdotal, informative and past tense (although I may have used some poetic licence here by writing it in the present tense).
I went for strong opening paragraphs, I hope - recounting a situation and then spending time leading up to how it happened. I tried to move the reader forward using a variety of approaches - timings; my inner voice thinking; our position on the river; by state of tide etc.
I included some dialogue I encountered form locals I met and really focused on trying to bring the places I passed through alive - smells, sounds, sights, emotions, scenery, wildlife, events and encounters, history and landmarks. I wanted readers to have a strong sense of place through little stories about features, local history - trying to build a picture of the rivers and how they might have looked and changed through time. I was aiming to paint a picture in a readers minds eye - tough task!
Was there any drama - yup - some - whether I conveyed it well enough and the tensions that ensued, I don't know - guess we will find out from reader comments and correspondence in next few issues.
I tried to 'show' and 'tell' and 'ponder/muse' throughout. I hoped I conveyed the joys of single handed sailing a small boat on local voyages up stunning rivers. The skills learned well and not so well to move a craft by sail, oar, wind and current alone.
Did I use enough signposts to help readers keep a focus on the goals of the article - don't know. Did I use sufficiently vivid language? No idea but I hope I did my English teachers who taught me justice. ringing deep in the recesses of my brain are their entreaties about reining in prose, moving it swiftly along so that it hits the emotions of my readers.
One teacher always talked about the poetry of prose, the hidden rhythms of hard nouns and startling verbs, where nouns burn pictures in the mind and verbs move every noun along. the stab of sudden moonlight, the ripples of the lake in the darkness; the murmuring, chuckling voice of the outgoing tidal waters in the upper most river creeks? i read these examples somewhere some time ago and they stuck with me but I cant remember where I read them - but I liked them.
Another teacher of mine talked about letting a reader 'see, hear and feel' - I definitely went for that in both articles. Oh and take the reader down 'startling paths' - mystery, surprise, logic, tension, suspense, vulnerability.
Wow.
I've just submitted another article about my inability to master the simple standing lug sail rig. 'Tips for sailing up tidal rivers' lies here on the computer in front of me - a work in progress!
The audience are small boat sailors and dinghy cruisers. I've just submitted two articles - a part one and part two about a recent voyage up the Lynher and Tamar rivers close to home.
One of the very best small boat magazines available and I'm not just saying that because they have accepted two articles from me. It is of an amazing quality with a mix of rally reports, letters and a wide range of in-depth feature articles
I think that a good recount article (in this instance) should have a clear start middle and end; be anecdotal, informative and past tense (although I may have used some poetic licence here by writing it in the present tense).
I went for strong opening paragraphs, I hope - recounting a situation and then spending time leading up to how it happened. I tried to move the reader forward using a variety of approaches - timings; my inner voice thinking; our position on the river; by state of tide etc.
I included some dialogue I encountered form locals I met and really focused on trying to bring the places I passed through alive - smells, sounds, sights, emotions, scenery, wildlife, events and encounters, history and landmarks. I wanted readers to have a strong sense of place through little stories about features, local history - trying to build a picture of the rivers and how they might have looked and changed through time. I was aiming to paint a picture in a readers minds eye - tough task!
Was there any drama - yup - some - whether I conveyed it well enough and the tensions that ensued, I don't know - guess we will find out from reader comments and correspondence in next few issues.
I tried to 'show' and 'tell' and 'ponder/muse' throughout. I hoped I conveyed the joys of single handed sailing a small boat on local voyages up stunning rivers. The skills learned well and not so well to move a craft by sail, oar, wind and current alone.
Did I use enough signposts to help readers keep a focus on the goals of the article - don't know. Did I use sufficiently vivid language? No idea but I hope I did my English teachers who taught me justice. ringing deep in the recesses of my brain are their entreaties about reining in prose, moving it swiftly along so that it hits the emotions of my readers.
One teacher always talked about the poetry of prose, the hidden rhythms of hard nouns and startling verbs, where nouns burn pictures in the mind and verbs move every noun along. the stab of sudden moonlight, the ripples of the lake in the darkness; the murmuring, chuckling voice of the outgoing tidal waters in the upper most river creeks? i read these examples somewhere some time ago and they stuck with me but I cant remember where I read them - but I liked them.
Another teacher of mine talked about letting a reader 'see, hear and feel' - I definitely went for that in both articles. Oh and take the reader down 'startling paths' - mystery, surprise, logic, tension, suspense, vulnerability.
Wow.
I've just submitted another article about my inability to master the simple standing lug sail rig. 'Tips for sailing up tidal rivers' lies here on the computer in front of me - a work in progress!
2 comments:
Just read your article in the DCA Journal. I got a good sense of the anxiety you feel while sailing and can relate to many of the instances that happen while sailing which can be a source of anxiety. Personally I think the article could have benefitted from more explanation of why you put yourself in these anxiety inducing situations - why do you cruise a dinghy? The bits that make it all worth it. These are the bits that for me, provide inspiration to get on and plan a trip myself. I look forward to reading part 2, and thank you for sharing.
Why do I cruise a dinghy? Because my mountaineering days are behind me due to rickety knees - and I didn't like parascending as much as I thought I might! Anxiety inducing situations? Actually they are all normal situations for any dinghy cruiser, but depending on your experience, they can or can not be anxiety inducing until such time as you have developed sufficient experience to allay such fears. The bits that make dinghy cruising worthwhile? Surely, they will of course be different, for different individuals. For me, scenery, grappling with new sailing situations, learning new skills, being close to nature, having a nice micro adventure away from the rushes of modern life.
I'm a relative beginner at sailing. It is easy for experienced sailors to forget that pain of learning new stuff :)
Thanks for the feedback.
Steve
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