I like the idea of having it in one thread. It flows better that way.

If you were writing about the Croatia part and made reference to something that happened in Turkey, we would have to go find the Turkey thread to see that part. Plus, in the Turkey part we would meet the cast of characters...and would follow them to the next country.

It is usually much better to keep a trip report in one thread. Easier to follow that way, and you can keep track of all the responses in one place. If you post it in separate threads, it is very likely that some other well-meaning poster will tell you to keep it all in one thread and may even consolidate it for you.

You do not say whether each part is for a different country. If it is, then in that case it might be neater to have a different thread for each country and treat them as separate trip reports. If you do this, then you can include a link in each thread to your other threads. I have seen it done both ways.

Keep the paragraphs fairly short...makes it much more readable. I'd be more inclined to read a bunch of shorter ones than one or two really long ones. Just a suggestion.

Keep the paragraphs fairly short...makes it much more readable. I'd be more inclined to read a bunch of shorter ones than one or two really long ones. Just a suggestion.

Whatever you do PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take it easy in writing down every bite of salami, gelato, sauce crab, you put in your mouth. Some trip reports, while well intended, become so assinine with details of every pizza slice, every nut and cracker...geezzz! I certainly love to read about a good restaurant experience, but certainly many go overboard describing every daily breakfast, lunch, dinners, drinks and snacks on a 15 day trip. Beyond absurd.

Via, I am shocked

I, for one, like resturants reviews. Not down to the bite, but I like menus,what was good, service, atmosphere,etc..

Some reports are so...quick.

As long as we aren't lectured about how well the food was "sculpted" on the plate (which of course is NEVER round like the "ordinary" ones mere mortals use) AND if you can accurately identify the ingredients in those "secret sauces" which are smeared on the plates to make it appear that you've paid for more food than you actually got then it should be OK.

And the fact that the people at the next table had the nerve to wear socks and sandals and shorts even though they were German BILLIONAIRES and how it absolutely ruined your meal I guess we can deal with that, too.

Do not make it a daily diary. Give us info that will effect future trip planning by others--not what you had for breakfast.

Snowflake asked whether to post a trip report as one thread or several threads. He or she did not ask what to include in it. A wise choice, I thought, as different people focus on different things when writing trip reports, and as different readers appreciate different types of content and style.

I would not presume to tell someone what they should find interesting enough about their trip to tell us in their report. Maybe it was breakfast, who knows? Maybe it will be told in diary style; there are some very interesting trip reports out there in just that style.

The OP should understand that for every poster on this thread who says not to do something, there are others who want to see just that thing.

And Dukey, I particularly liked your two short paragraphs about writing short paragraphs above. If you had combined them, it would have been overly long and redundant.

One person's opinion:

It is not the format, it is the content.

I do not care what flight you took unless it was Air Force One.

I do not care what time you got up.

Do not use empty words like amazing, wow, and yummy. Use a brief description.

Try to be witty.

And most reports do not capture either the pleasure or excitement of the trip, they are written in a clinical method as if an isntructional manual for a medical procedure.

"The OP should understand that for every poster on this thread who says not to do something, there are others who want to see just that thing."

AMEN sister!

I can't really believe some of the suggestions. Why on EARTH not use 'amazing' if something is amazing?? And why not do a daily diary if that is what one wants to do?? We currently have one thread going w/ over 600 posts that is essentially a daily diary of a London stay and it hasn't lost anyone yet . . .

My only two suggestions would be all one thread tagged for each of the countries, and use paragraphs.

Or if you do decide to split it into separate country threads - post links to each of the other threads so folks can go straight to them w/o having to click on your name to find them.

Amazing is an empty word used by twelve years to describe their latest socks and now the Pyramids. It has lost its meaning. Think of another word or description.

yes please, if you do nothing else, use paragraphs!

Oftentimes what you leave out of a story is more important than what you leave in. Other than that, I agree with everything which has been said above, especially the contradictions.

Oh, sorry -- one trip, one trip report! And paragraphs with a double-space between them.

Oh dear. My trip report is pretty much a daily diary but that's because I'm here long(ish) term and with the computer. For a normal vacation of a couple of weeks, I'd wait till I got home but then I'd probably never get around to doing it. I don't think I've ever written what I had for breakfast (not much usually) but I've probably said at least once what I had for dinner.

I figure anyone who gets bored reading the thread will just stop reading and that's fine. I don't generally read trip reports unless I'm planning to go to that place and then I make notes of hotels, restaurants, special events and places of interest. I've really enjoyed the 'conversations' back and forth with other posters and their comments and suggestions have been invaluable and I wouldn't have gotten that with a normal trip report.

>>Amazing is an empty word used by twelve years to describe their latest socks and now the Pyramids. It has lost its meaning. Think of another word or description.<<

Vocabulary police are we?? You say wow and yummy are verboten too? How ridiculous!

I'm sure 95% of trip reports are beneath you.

I like the sort that start with a brief overview of who you are, where you went and what you did. You can usually tell from the style whether it's one you want to read.

I think it's a good idea to post it in chunks and hopefully get some feedback from other posters before adding the next installment. Trip reports that are thousands of words long are somewhat daunting, even with short paragraphs.

And bottom line, people who aren't interested needed read so don't worry about them. Make it your own style. And..warts and all too, please. Pollyanna reports are all very well but I like to read about stuff-ups and disappointments too.

For a standard, look at any trip report by ms_go--she is a pro and it shows. They start with an overview and hihglights.

Like this one :
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/nine-days-in-the-peloponnese-and-athens-trip-report-and-lots-of-photos-by-mr-go-ms-go.cfm

Do what you please! -- I can't believe folks insist one follow someone else's format. It is not one size fits all. The only thing that definitely makes it easier is to break into reasonable paragraphs.

This isn't some school assignment where you lose points for doing it wrong. And it isn't a competition.

Ms_go does do great trip reports - no question. But so do a LOT of other people. That one btn linked has 65 replies -- there are many that follow other formats that have 3, 4, 5 times more. Doesn't make them better (or worse) just interesting in their own ways.

Don't worry about fitting into one person's cookie cutter suggestion - write in the style that makes YOU happy.

Keep all the countries in one thread. It's easier to follow that way.

Otherwise please ignore the dogmatists. Janis is right. Write the report how you want to write it. And I believe bobthenavigator is related to ms_go, so...chortle.

Why on earth do you freakin' care what others want? Write the TR in any way that is comfortable and easy for you. Everyone will still enjoy it.

Write about an amazing day punctuated by yummy food, ending with your stay in a flat with the "wow " factor.
Seriously Snow, it's a good questin. But no matter what you write and how you choose to do so, it will be instructive interesing and helpful!! YOu may never know WHO was helped by it, but rest assured, there will be someone printing out or writing one of your recommendations or opinions.

Because I read Snowflake's report on Istanbul, I followed her/him here. In a couple of months, I will be doing a RTW and was wondering whether to post on one thread, or by country. Since the first stop (other than Hawaii) will be Tahiti, the entire trip will be under that thread - I guess.
I'm not nearly verbal enough to put in all the details of each stop, but you have given me some general things to keep in mind while doing the TR's.
I will promise you however... you will NEVER see the word "Awesome." Thanks for the help -- again.

Shrink

Shrink,

People who have done similar trips including multiple countries DO put each country in a separate thread. However, be sure to begin the thread with a link to the previous country's thread and end with a link to the next country's thread. You might even number them: "Shrink RTW Part 1: Tahiti" or the like.

When I write a trip report, I enjoy the encouragement of readers. To generate more interest, I try to report one "trip day" per day, or at least a few hours apart so the thread will be topped more often. From Maitaitom, I borrowed the idea of giving each day a hopefully witty and intriguing title, listing the title of the next day at the bottom of the previous day as a teaser.

Shrink: There have been a few RTW reports over the years. What seems to work best is to post the OZ/NZ/Tahiti/Pacific segment on that forum. Then if you are on to Asia -- post the Asian bits on the Asia board. Then - on to the Europe forum. So in other words by continent/forum, not all in one. On each separate TR -tag it for each country visited. And include a link from one report to the others.

There are other ways to post RTW reports -- but this way seems to have been the easiest. One TR on each forum.

>>Amazing is an empty word used by twelve years to describe their latest socks and now the Pyramids. It has lost its meaning. Think of another word or description.<<

Vocabulary police are we?? You say wow and yummy are verboten too? How ridiculous!

I'm sure 95% of trip reports are beneath you.
__________________________

I assume if someone takes the time and energy to write a trip report, they would want it read. If the trip report contains lazy writing or unnecessary information, then the writer will lose x amount of readers.

The most common mistake is the trip reports lack the enthusiasm and interest of why the person first went on the trip. They think they must write in a style that sound like writing. How many people are interested in the flight number or what time someone woke? If a meal is yummy, that tells the reader nothing about the food. If something is awesome or amazing, than you are using the langugae of twelve year old texting. And if you are twelve than that is acceptable.

What I do not understand is justification for sloppy writing. Would you accept it in you child's homework assignement? Then why do you defend it in adults.

"When I write a trip report, I enjoy the encouragement of readers"
Most people do.
I like reading reports, but the minute someone starts describing their flight or contents of the first day breakfast, I am gone. ( especially if the food was yummy!).
Of course, poster can use any format they like and the vocabulary they deem suitable.

Since you cannot please all, do as you wish.

I've only done a few trip reports, but I tend to put the straight facts - restaurant/hotel info and reviews, overall costs, etc - right at the beginning. That way the people who only want the bare bones can find it easily. Then I talk about each day and what we did (hopefully not in excessive detail, but of course the definition of "excessive" differs by person), all in one single thread. There are some people who like that "diary" style, depending on where the trip was to and how closely their interests match my own.

I agree with annhig and others - PLEASE use paragraphs. Paragraphs are absolutely essential for me to read anything. A little bit of bolding/italics using HTML coding can help too, but that's not a must for me.

Facts are good and necessary of course but I enjoy TR's that have some personal comments in the TR's also. The story of how one made an error (Maitaitom's car refueling for example), the poster who had to stay longer in Paris with her grandson because he lost his passport etc. The human nature side of TR's can make a dry and "just the fact's" TR more of an interesting read, at least in my opinion.

"If something is awesome or amazing, than you are using the langugae of twelve year old texting. And if you are twelve than that is acceptable. . . .

What I do not understand is justification for sloppy writing. Would you accept it in you child's homework assignement [sic]? Then why do you defend it in adults."

mensa member are we?? I'd guess you are just loads if fun at a party . . .

BTW -- are you as tough on your own spelling mistakes as you are on others 'sloppy' writing? Probably not.

If you want to write a long trip report, that's fine. But please put in plenty of paragraph breaks - I get worn out by long trip reports with long paragraphs and no white space.

Also, if you want to do a long trip report, it doesn't hurt to first offer an "executive summary" - a quick rundown of where you went, when, where you stayed, favorite restaurants and sights, highlights of the trip - and low points too, if there were any you want to mention (example: a hotel that didn't honor your reservation).

And links to the hotels, restaurants, museums, sights/sites, are very helpful.

And yes, I am terrible speller and a worse typist. And yes when people tell me, I correct it.

And yes, if I am at a party and an sdult says something is amazing, yummy, or awesome I move on to have an adult conversation.

One need not be a MENSA member to encourage others to go beyond mediocrity.

When you enter a bookstore and are choosing a book, do you think, this book is average, it is just right for me.

janisj-- READ THE TITLE OF THIS THREAD. The original poster (OP) is ASKING FOR OPINIONS ON FORMAT. OP is getting opinions. If at end the OP chooses to follow her own style and/or follow a conforming style, it still OP's choice.

I see you still have not refill your "happy pill" prescription...

I find this discussion tremendously useful and definitely appropriate.

Snowflake--still working on rest of TR? Hope so.

Here's my few cents worth for you or others reading this thread.

1.As your trip, I hope, fit your style, so should your TR reflect that. Which means that it won't please everyone! Don't even try.

2.I definitely agree that shorter (well, there's a relative term!) paragraphs are most helpful.

3.I also like the overview at the beginning. That can be helpful and can always be skipped if the reader just wants to read the TR narrative/specifics.

4.Whatever your opinion/style concerning vocabulary is fine--but please proofread a couple times before submitting. Okay, I'm an English teacher, so I do notice typos and such, but a few mistakes don't make me want to stop reading. To be honest, though, if the TR sounds "sloppy" (there's another relative term!), I will probably stop reading or just skim it. I type my TR's in Word, proof there, and then copy and paste instead of writing directly into the Fodor's box.

5.I agree that no matter how many countries, one thread is better. If there are pieces to break out and post separately, then that's a possibility, but I think of it A report on a WHOLE trip.

6.Links are helpful if easy for you to insert but with the ease of internet searches, they aren't necessary if you don't want to bother.

7. I have found posting in segments so that you get feedback as you write along to be really fun--well, mostly--and encouraging--well, mostly; there are those pedants and nay-sayers and nit-pickers who love to point out things or to stir up something. (This next bit of advice isn't about format but still--My advice is to be prepared with a little bit of thick skin, to be willing to cull through negative responses for any bit of helpful insight, and to just ignore some. Some people are just abrasive or prickly sometimes, so you just glean the good, if there is any, from what they say.)

I've written the few TR's I've posted here for two reasons: First, a TR is really for me and my family--I take the sloppy journal and notes I've made along the way and turn it into something more readable as a record to go along with the pictures. I might edit this personal one a little before posting it here, but really the Fodor TR is just a version of one I write for me, so it's definitely reflective of me and my family. Secondly, a TR is a sort of thank you gift to Fodor's and forum members, so I want to wrap my present in a neat package, so the format and proofreading are important. John Hope Franklin said, "We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.” So my TR's are a sort of fulfilling this "obligation" by telling the Fodor world of the glories of our journey.

"mensa member are we?? I'd guess you are just loads if fun at a party . . ."
Loads IF fun?
We all make typing mistakes.

Yummy is what one says to a 3 year old referring to his lunch
Awesome and amazing would be the words 13 year old uses to describe Justin Bieber.

But, everyone uses the vocabulary of their choosing.

texasbookworm - nicely summarized.

tC

A few random thoughts on trip reports:

1. One of the great strengths of this community and this knowledge-base is its diversity. That is, diversity of experience, diversity of outlook and diversity of expression. It is not only natural that people's trip reports will reflect a diversity of styles... it is essential.

2. If the question is: 'what is the most useful form of trip report?' then I think bob (and others here) are correct. Try to capture the essence of the experience without prattling on. Keep it interesting for the reader. More content, in fewer words. But, of course, that is the most difficult challenge in EVERY form of instructive prose writing. TRs are no exception.

3. That said, some of my very favorite trip reports have been non-utilitarian in nature. St Cirq's vivid descriptions of life in the Dordogne come to mind.

4. To answer Leely2: Yes, sort of. ms_go is related to bobthenav by marriage. Namely, marriage to me. We write those reports as a team. And while I can't necessarily speak for her at this moment, I will say this: I think they're a tad wordy, overall. If we had more time, or were doing this professionally, we'd probably axe about 15%.

5. Other than that, I'd say texasbookworm has it about 95% right. Especially the part about posting TRs as a thank-you to the forum. Pay it forward, people. This place would die if we didn't keep contributing and updating it!

Well said---but I am biased.

I write my TR for me. They are gentle reminders and recollections that 'ease' the time BETWEEN trips.

That SAID -- I POST them in the hopes that others might enjoy, be amused, enlightened and or informed by what I have done -- AND in the method I use to tell it.

They SEEM to fulfill those lofty aspirations -- if response and comments are any indicator -- but, it all comes back to my original point ---

They are MY memories -- If you find fault with my style, format and/or vocabulary ...

You DON'T have to read it!

Bob

Snowflake, well, you are certainly getting a great deal of advice, eh? I would add that CAPITALIZING the names of famous historical sites, museums, restaurants, etc. makes for easier reading.

Also, try to thank/acknowledge those who comment along the way.

"Snowflake, well, you are certainly getting a great deal of advice, eh?"

yup - and has been for 2+ years (the thread is from 2010)

But it still has some good suggestions . . .

I write my TR for me.

Then why do you post it? Why not just read under your covers with a flashlight?

Golemtoo, it helps to read the entire post:

"That SAID -- I POST them in the hopes that others might enjoy, be amused, enlightened and or informed by what I have done -- AND in the method I use to tell it."

Golem was testy up thread under his old screen name, disposition hasn't improved much . .

The best trip reports have mistakes in them. People jump in and start correcting, arguing, mocking etc etc. Everyone gets excited and has a great time.

I write my trip reports for me, too. They are my travel journals, chronicles that I have always kept almost everywhere I've gone. I like to share them, but I don't follow a template or pattern or anything else. I just write. If people like them, that's great. If not, no big deal.

I don't like them at all St Cirq.

Fair enough, cold.

Darn. You win.

Well, StCirq, Maitai and Cold happen to be talented writers and well worth reading. Most of us, especially the "what I did on my summer vacation" type of reporter, not so much. Personally, I read very few trip reports and contribute only the sort of minimalist summaries I devoutly wish most people would.

When you start in on the flight delays, the lousy airline food, the fact that you didn't pack properly, the "then I did this" -- do you notice a certain glaze in the eye of your (unhappy) victim at home? Believe me, we online are long gone!

Huh? I actually read very few trip reports with pleasure, but are you talking about mine? I pack properly (and rarely talk about it) and never write "and then I did this"-type reports. At least I don't think I do. But whatever, my trip reports (if that's what you want to call them - in my mind they are just my own chronicles) certainly aren't minimalist. Quite the opposite...I tend to go on and on and on. But if you don't enjoy them, it's not a big deal for me. Ignore them.

Hmm -- you seem to be a more talented writer than reader -- I specifically exempted you, maitai and Cold from the blanket condemnation!

And yes -- THIS is precisely why I chose to 'Resurrect' this two-year old thread ...

Then again, apparently I do NOT qualify for an exemption ...

Ah, well ...
Bad Bob -- No Cookie!

Bob

I apologize, Fra_Diavolo. Somehow I missed your accolades. Sorry.

Glad to clear up the misunderstanding!

Peace. And thank you.

Bob -- there are plenty of good 'uns (imho) -- I just mentioned the three that were replying recently.