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[at-l] [AT-l] RE: Thoughts on Paper

Michael MacLean wrote:

>Thanks for you input, I accept it with great pleasure.  Since I have never
>hiked and experienced the AT for myself, how am I to stick to the subject. 

Well, who are the likely readers?  Future generations of your relatives
(according to your posts).  You'll probably get a kick out of it 20 years
from now as well.  Your future readers will know you mainly by what you
write in your journal.

As a reader, the first things I want to know (which should be up-front in
your journal) are:

Who are you?  What is your name?  How old are you?  Where do you live?  What
year is it? What is the date of your entry? Why, in 25 words or less, are
you hiking the trail?  Will you be hiking by yourself?  Who are you leaving
behind (parents, relatives, girlfriends, job, etc.)?  What do you plan to do
when you finish the hike?  Do you plan to go to school?  Why is now a good
time for you to hike?  What kind of preparations have you made?  It would be
interesting to see how your planning works out while actually on the trail.

I found your writing to be too abstract.  In fact, so abstract that it bore
no relationship to your hike.

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