How to write reports

[AnthonyRail]

I've tried to write a report on a recent day out on the trains but I've no idea how, perhaps I've lost the ability to creative writing. How do you guys read everything too write down?

I hope I'll be able to write one soon. And be ready for all line rover in September

 

[alexf380]

Hi, and welcome to this part of the forum! There are an ever growing number of trip report writers that frequent these boards so any questions you have I'm sure someone shall answer.

In regards to writing a trip report, there really isn't all that much to it, but there are a few basic things to consider first.

1) What sort of trips do you go on? This can really determine what style of writing you go for, as a much more relaxed story about a journey between two points is totally different to a hardcore bashing session on the London Underground. For me, on the longer legs of the journey, I pay attention to what goes on in the carriage around me, and anything I find funny or whatever, keep a mental note of it, as it's likely* to have the same effect on the audience.

*not always though, that's the risk!

b) Speaking of, who actually is your audience? Is your report aimed at the seasoned rail enthusiast or more of a layman's journey report? We bashers have a whole dictionary of terms that the average Joe wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of understanding! Consider that when writing the report.

3) Have fun writing! Seriously! Make the writing sound like you're enjoying writing the piece, and people will enjoy reading it. Think of it as a phone conversation; you can't see their reaction, you don't know what else they're doing at that time that's fighting for their attention, but you don't want them to hang up. Talk to the reader, make them feel welcome, include a joke or two to keep the piece light. Sure, you can list your moves and numbers with a bit of context to them if that's what you wish, but I always think it better to put a bit of personality into the writing. People on here like Techniquest, Kite159 & Fishquinn, to name but a humble few, have been writing these things for years so have a read of a few of theirs to get the picture, and just steal little bits that you liked from everyone's styles...that's how I started!

I hope this mindless rambling will help you somewhat and doesn't just confuse you more. I look forward to reading what you write!

Alex

 

[Cowley]

Excellent advice from Alex. I've not been writing them for long myself, but we're all on here to share what we've been up to and to read about what everyone else is doing/has done as that's what interests us.

 

[AnthonyRail]

Purchased note book so I can start writing down numbers.

I'm starting again, from now on so everything will be a winner. I've not lost much as never really wrote anything down and can go thru pictures to idenfirt numbers of locos seen last year.

 

[Dhassell]

Purchased note book so I can start writing down numbers.

I'm starting again, from now on so everything will be a winner. I've not lost much as never really wrote anything down and can go thru pictures to idenfirt numbers of locos seen last year.

Thats how I started Jan last year! Good Luck to you

 

[fowler9]

Just make it fun, by that I don't mean you have to be a stand up comedian, just that I guess we all travel on trains for fun if we actually write a trip report about it. Say what you did, why you did it, what made it good or bad. Sometimes stuff that made it bad can be funny and interesting in retrospect. I've never done a trip report on here but did kind of blog myself around the world. I was once on a coach from La Serena to Arica in Chile. At about 3 in the morning it spat bits of engine out the back and caught fire in the middle of the Atacama desert. Other passengers were flagging down random pick up trucks for a ride. At the time it was like WTF, looking back it was amazing.

My point, if I have one, is just be yourself and write about what happened, not just a list of trains and destinations. Any of the brilliant trip reporters on here are worth reading for some ideas. They all of their own style and I can't think of any I don't enjoy reading. Maybe I will do my own at some point.

 

[507021]

I try and make my reports as interesting for the reader as I possibly can without going into too much detail that could cause the reader to become disinterested and stop reading. I don't think there's any particular right or wrong ways of writing a trip report though, but you can always change things as you write more of your own reports, as well as picking things up from reading trip reports written by other forum members.

 

[AnthonyRail]

How do u include pictures in posts?

 

[507021]

How do u include pictures in posts?

Below the window used to type out your post, you should see a button which says "Manage Attachments", click on that and you'll be able to upload and add pictures to your post. That's how I add pictures to my posts, although some members upload them to their Flickr account and then embed the picture into main body of the post, rather than thumbnails at the bottom of the post which is what happens if you use the "Manage Attachments" option.

 

[47403]

Welcome aboard.Alex and the others have pretty much ticked all the boxes you need. Best bit of advice is read through a few, get some inspiration.

Tell us what's got you into the hobby or what brought you back. Don't be shy to ask us advice, there's a wealth of information to be gained in here.

Good luck.

 

[AnthonyRail]

Would it be best too just use one tread for all trip reports and either edit original post or just post in comments.

 

[Kite159]

Would it be best too just use one tread for all trip reports and either edit original post or just post in comments.

Probably better to have one thread with new reports posted as and when.

Allows you to go back in time (all be it a year or so) to re-read your reports when the nights are long

 

[robbeech]

My advice is to read a report by me, and do it completely differently.

 

[Techniquest]

I've found this thread after I read your trip report thread, still on an enormous catchup on the forum having not been on much lately.

Alexf380 has hit the nail more or less square on the head with his advice. I've been writing trip reports for years now, and I'm always looking to tweak them a bit to keep them fresh and interesting. Each and every trip will be different, so my last trip report which was long will be much longer than my upcoming quick spin to West Wales on Monday. There will be less to talk about for one, so much so I'm not sure I need to do a full blown trip report. Definitely not using a hashtag!