Not quite sure if this is the spot to post this or if I should've put it in the DL main section, so if it's the wrong place, I apologize. I have been reading over a lot of TR and I'm thinking about starting my own, so I tried to search for ideas and tips on creating them, but came up kind of empty. What are the dos and don'ts? How do you set it up so people can go to the individual post instead of having to search through the entire thread? (The TRs I've read where you can go directly to the posts seem a lot more organized to me) How long until you're able to post pictures? TIA for the help. I love reading everyone's TRs and I just want to be able to give back.
First of all, there's
no right or wrong in creating trip reports! Everyone has their own style. Some folks are better writers than others. Some people are more creative and artistic than others. Some folks are funny. Some folks take lots of photos and some folks only take a few. Some folks write very little and just mainly focus on photos. Some of us (like Belle Ella, myself and others) have combined many DLR trips into one mega-TR. Some of us have included other photos from DLR trips taken during our childhood in our TR's.
Just as there are different styles to Trip Reports, there are also different audiences for TR's. Some readers want short, to-the-point TR's that last for one or two posts and that's it! They don't want all the different installments. Whereas other people really like the TR's that have lots of different 'chapters,' if you will, as they feel like they are brought more into our lives and that they get to know us through our TR's.
I've been told by some people that they enjoy reading along because they feel like they know us, they feel like they have walked alongside us on our DLR trips, they feel like they know the people in the TR's, etc.
So the main thing is that you want people to get to know you, get to know what brought you to the point of taking the trip (for example, had you been struggling to get to DLR for years, and couldn't because of money; had it been a lifelong dream to go to DLR and this was your first trip; is this your first solo trip ever, is this a big holiday for you, is this a birthday trip, etc.). Then you want to bring people along with you on your journey, sharing what you rode, where you ate, what you bought, what you photographed....just what you
saw. We want to see what you saw, but we want to see it through
your eyes, if that makes any sense!
Not everyone will include direct links to posts. It's nice if it happens, but it is not something that everyone does. Imagine if you take a 7-day trip and have 25 separate posts full of photos and installments from each of those 7 days. This would mean that you'd be linking each of the 25 posts for each of the 7 days - and, frankly, many people won't take the time to do that. It is very time consuming.
Instead, some folks will link to the page on which the TR begins instead of the specific posts, which still helps because it directs you to the start of the TR. And then others don't link to the page or the individual posts. (I started my mega-TR by including links to the pages on which each TR begins, but I plan to eventually go back in and post links to each post when I have time.)
It's really up to you and what you want to do and how you want to do it. You don't have to follow any specific rule for the format.
If you would like to link to each post, you have to click on the number in the upper right-hand corner of the post and open the post up in a new tab/window, then copy that link.
Let's say you want to call the second post/installment of your TR, "Part 2," with a link. Once you click on that number in the upper right corner of the post and open it, then highlight the address/link at the top of the page and copy it.
Type out
"Part 2" (or whatever you care calling it) wherever you want to put the link (maybe in a Table of Contents or Index or whatever you choose). Highlight "Part 2" and leave it highlighted. Next, click on the
Insert Link icon (it's the little globe with the link picture next to Increase Indent!), and enter in the address/link for that single post you copied in the space provided....and click OK.
Your new link should show as "Part 2." Once you get the hang of doing that, then you can play with changing the titles and names of the links.
I hope this helps somewhat! I look forward to your TR - it's going to be a solo trip, correct? I did a mostly solo trip this past December (2 full days out of 3-1/2 days at DLR were solo) and I had a great time! So I will be one of the ones joining you in your TR when you get it going!
