Comments on Rachel Cotterill: My Cuban Adventure

I love the pictures you included. Especially the o...

2009-10-11T04:41:13.923+01:00

I love the pictures you included. Especially the one of the little girls. They're so expressive.

Very descriptive - I really felt as if I were on t...

2009-10-10T15:06:38.181+01:00

Very descriptive - I really felt as if I were on the climb with you!

This is terrific, Rachel! I got a little winded, ...

2009-10-10T00:44:44.205+01:00

This is terrific, Rachel! I got a little winded, sitting here and just reading.

I don't know much about travel writing, so I have no idea what the judges didn't like. So much of the winning/getting published deal is a matter of hitting the right judge/agent/editor whose personal tastes align with your own, and has nothing to do with the quality of your work, which is excellent!

What a wonderful holiday you must have had. I love...

2009-10-09T23:31:31.029+01:00

What a wonderful holiday you must have had. I love that closing photo - paired with the article it's just so evocative!

I loved it Rachel... You made us feel as if we wer...

2009-10-09T17:39:25.653+01:00

I loved it Rachel... You made us feel as if we were walking along, although I might be on my rear on some of the paths... The photos are spectacular as they are!

Come over and see what you think of my Kudzu photos I played with, I would love to know your opinion...

Good piece, Rachel, gives a feeling of the "real" ...

2009-10-09T15:13:36.450+01:00

Good piece, Rachel, gives a feeling of the "real" Cuba. To make it a winner I would suggest that you make it into a little "story" with some form of progression, so we can put your visit in context.

To be specific: your story might have ended up by your being mugged, since they were "new" friends, strangers who had offered to take you for a walk in unfamiliar country. I was waiting to see if that might happen. Then I was waiting to find out what drew you to them in the first place, but you didn't say. So in the end I didn't know where they were.

IN short, I don't think you need to work on the descriptions, but the structure -- so you can present us with a little vignette of Cuban reality.

By the way with regard to the BGTW travel contest on my blog, I think they're trying to weed out people who already make money from writing about travel. But your comment makes me wonder what "unpublished" actually means in these days of blogs and online magazines. I'll check and post a clarification on my blog.

You write very well and it would be a shame to rule yourself out if you don't have to!

I would LOVE to go to Cuba but unfortunately, my g...

2009-10-09T13:54:26.943+01:00

I would LOVE to go to Cuba but unfortunately, my government frown on it.