The Journal in MotoJournalism is the storytelling part of the equation. Overland journeys drop us right into the deep-end of personal experience and adventure. When we travel slowly through the countryside and the cities it puts us into direct contact with individuals, cultures, history and landscapes.
The experiences we have and the photos we take give us an infinite well of potential stories to draw from, but how can we put those experiences into a compelling story?
I wrote a ride report about my last motorcycle trip - Canada to Panama - while I was on the road. Of course photos were taken all day every day, but I'd also jot down notes in my Moleskine
notebook: Where I started and finished the day, who I met, what I saw. Nothing in detail, just enough to trigger my memory.
notebook: Where I started and finished the day, who I met, what I saw. Nothing in detail, just enough to trigger my memory.
With my memory fresh and an open bottle of beer, I'd work at night in hotels and hospidajes or camped in my tent, I'd use my netbook computer to process the photos and expand my hasty notes into a narrative.
The entries in the ride-report are raw and rough around the edges - just initial impressions really - but they have the excitement of the unknown. I'd finish writing a chapter then ride-off to live the next one.
