BluepoofBikes Motorcycle Adventures

Rider article sent!

I just got back from the post office, where it somehow took me 45
minutes to mail an envelope. But, the Rider article about the Haines
Highway is off now. Yay!

I'm really hoping the photos are OK this time. That's going to weigh on
my mind until I hear back from them. *fret fret*

Bringing the bike into the story

I've been stalled on the Haines Highway article for a couple of days now. I've done four drafts; I think the core article is good. There are sentences I really like, and it's getting to that magical state where every word is chosen for a reason (William Zinsser, in Writing Well, says that "clutter is the disease of American writing").

But I don't quite like the article yet. There's something missing: something tugging at me to change or incorporate or leave out.

I talked it over with Peter a bit last night, and I think the problem is that I need to bring the bike into the story more. Saying "we rode" instead of "we drove" does not a motorcycle travelogue make, Carolyn.

Peter's suggestion -- an excellent one, I might add -- was to go back and overwrite the motorcycle parts. Make every paragraph sound like an ad for the SVS. Wax poetic about its buzzing handlebars, its twin cylinders, its powerband. Then, once I feel like Suzuki should be paying me for the article, I can go back with a weedwhacker (wordwhacker?) and trim.

So that's on the plate for today. I'm still a little shaky on how to start it, so I've got Peter Egan's Leanings sitting on the coffee table.

Slow progress

I was hoping to be farther along with my Rider article by now. I've only got my notes from the road written -- I still have to do notes for Haines Junction and Haines, not to mention drafts. Won't happen tonight, as I have a crazy busy day at work and then a 3-hour class.

Calling Alaskans :)

I need some help identifying landmarks along the Haines Highway (mostly mountains and glaciers) for my article. If anyone is familiar with the area, can you drop me a line? Thanks!

Another shot at Rider

It's Take Two time for getting published in Rider -- I just got the letter saying they're interested in an article about the Haines Highway. After all the troubles with my photos last time, I'm hoping that this submission will go smoothly!

I'm really excited about writing this article in particular. The Haines Highway was really an amazing stretch of road: glaciers, mountains, lakes, twisties, grizzly bears... Plus, after doing a 1800-word article on the 1500-mile Alaska Highway, it'll be nice to have 1500 words for just 150 miles. ;)

This one'll be work though -- I somewhat optimistically said I'd have it done within three weeks of hearing their reply, and then naturally never started it. Sigh. I may need to get one of those big calendars on whiteboards so that I can keep track of when I promised what to whom. It's a nice problem to have, though.

RoadBike article is a go!

Woo, the Alaska Highway article passed through the editorial and photography department gauntlets, and is going to officially go on their schedule! Huzzah! Jessica estimates it'll be in the magazine next spring sometime; I'll definitely let y'all know as soon as I find out.

I've fallen in love with RoadBike's photo department, who passed some tips along to me through Jessica. As I'm a writer first and photographer second, I really appreciate their taking the time to help edjimikate me. Also, I'm happy to report that they were "technical" problems (the slides were a little grainy, which could have been my film or the developing lab...?) and not issues with composition.

Do any of you folks out there in WebLand use digital cameras for magazine submissions? I use a 5-megapixel camera and have been shooting in the "super large" resolution mode -- should I be using "RAW" mode instead?

One submission in...

From usps.com:

Track & Confirm
Current Status
You entered 0301 XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX

Your item was delivered at 12:07 pm on August 16, 2004 in STAMFORD, CT 06905.

Now to wait and see if RoadBike's editor and photo dept like the article...

I also have a query out to Rider, about the Haines Highway. I'm hoping to hear back from them; I'm excited about writing that article and would love for a newsstand publication to buy it.

The money will just start flowing in now, just you watch

Woo! My very first paid article is now in SisterCycle magazine, out on the newsstands...at least, newsstands in British Columbia. :-)

Here's the cover -- that's me in the righthand photo, in Death Valley:

Neat! I have to email the editor and see if I can get a couple more copies. If not, is there anyone out there in BC who could pick some up for me (here's the list of bookstores)? I'll pay you back. :)

Snip snip snip snip

I just finished my first first draft (as opposed to the second, third, and etc. first drafts) for the RoadBike Alaska Highway article. It was 8600 words. Unfortunately, the article needs to be around 1500 words. Hrm. Guess what I'll be doing this afternoon? :D

Stuff I Read.

A bunch of the blogs I read have done a "other motorcycling blogs" entry lately, so why should I buck the trend? :)

Johnstowncompany.com
Motorcycle Misadventures
Motorcycle-Blog.com
Bikes in the Fast Lane
Neobike.net
Forty Years on Two Wheels

Normally, I'd write a little about each one...but I was up waaaay too late last night after the 10:30pm showing of Fahrenheit 9/11. Now I'm slamming coffee so that I can wake up enough to adjust the SVS's valves.