Your National Forests Article

Well, I certainly can't say I was early, but I turned in the article for Your National Forests magazine. It was due by the end of the month, and I made it.

It took me three tries. Having 2000 words might sound like a lot, but when one has to describe a 4400-mile trail to people who may never have heard of it, it's not very many. I wrote a whole lot of the article, read it over and decided that it was so boring I wouldn't even finish it if I saw it in print.

Then I tried to fix it. I pulled it apart and tried to insert some better pieces. No better. However, I did like my opening.

Finally, I inserted a story, and moved the drier parts nearer the end. That was better. Of course I had to include info about the National Forests, and the trail goes through 10 of them!

Anyway, it's done and sent. Writing often means re-writing and re-writing and struggling over pace and wording to make factual information more interesting. Hopefully, I've succeeded.

It begins:

Don't you wish there was a trail that wandered across the upper United States, connecting National Forests and other protected wild areas? It could be laid out in such a way that hikers could walk to some of the most scenic places in the northeast. Don't you wish...