It’s time to find us some fresh blood at CC, as the influx of fresh material has been drooping a wee bit lately. It’s summer time, and many of our existing contributors are perhaps naturally feeling a wee bit of fatigue. I know I am. But I also know there’s a number of you out there that have things to share and contribute, but just haven’t taken the dive yet. And I know probably why.
Undoubtedly the main reason is folks tend to think that it’s somehow harder than it actually is, and that they might not have the requisite skills. We’re not expecting you to write the automotive “War and Peace”. Just share something with us from the wide range of topics CC covers. Keep it simple, if you like. many of the comments you all leave are good enough to be a post. Just add some pictures…
Speaking of, I’ve revised the CC Writer’s Guide with a much simpler set of step-by-step instructions on creating a post in CC. The old one might have been off-putting. It’s actually very easy. That may have been another hurdle. Don’t let it be.
If you can write a comment or post pictures on Facebook or such, you can do it here too. Just let me know via an email at curbsideclassic(at)gmail.com or use the Contact Form, and I’ll give you access. You need to be registered with CC and give me your username.
Wow, what fortune- Ten minutes ago I was looking for these very instructions, then this popped up when I refreshed the page. 🙂 Had a follow-up to my last one cooking for a while now…
PS – I know some ‘White girls for general housework’ myself…
I’m wondering who this “Robert Brophy” guy is and why he got his own trolley stop.
And his plans for the possible ‘small child.’ I guess instead of true crime novels, back then you just read the newspaper want ads to figure out who the killer was.
I live not too far from Hopewell and Pennigton, NJ
I want to hang out with Albert Miller and his young ladies demonstrating necessities in life.
Me too! and for such $$ Big MONEY $$ as well! And I am sure the hours and working conditions where just the best!
That is a truly fascinating find. Either it’s some gadget that he’s afraid to mention because someone might steal the idea (revolutionary new vegetable chopper?) or it’s something, uh…”feminine.” I wouldn’t be surprised if it were related to birth control (and if Albert Miller weren’t his real name.)
(Or, of course, that he was a “procurer.”)
*Vibrates*! I’ve been looking forward to this day all year! I’m so excited! I’ve wanted to write for this site since l started reading back in 2017.
Paul is correct, it is a very easy process. It’s also easy to find cars to take pictures of (many of us use our phones but some still use cameras, I’ve done both) and topics to write about. By the time you do your third post there is usually no need to look at the guide anymore, you’ve got it…
It helps (A LOT) to write about stuff you know and/or are interested in. I’ve found some very cool things to take pictures of but wasn’t able to write anything due to lack of knowledge and the time to learn, I’d rather just read about it (here at CC). One set of pics I ended up sharing with Jason who used them for a great post, often some of us use the Cohort for that. But some of us love the deep dive research project kind of post. I do not recommend starting with that though.
But if the topic or car I shot is something I am interested in, then the words kind of flow and it’s a de-stresser of sorts (for me). That’s why/how I personally started with my COAL series and transitioned into other more general posts.
If needed, I’d be willing to help someone get started or tutor them on how to do stuff or even read their post or make suggestions if they are nervous about it before posting it. I am NOT a techy whatsoever, so if I can do it, so can you. I’d sometimes just need a bit of time to respond since I am far from retired and still have kids to deal with too… 🙂
I’m putting my hand up as well to help with anyone who wants to contribute. Things have been a bit busy for me of late, but I’ll be back to contributing myself in the coming weeks.
First rule of CC contributordom – don’t sweat it. We don’t need high literature, just informed prose and judging by the comment streams across all our articles we have plenty of latent talent.
Well I am not one who digs deep into the history of a car such as who designed it and what it copied. Who the CEO of the company doesn’t grab me as much as just the car. Either my eyes like the car or I don’t. I prefer older and don’t care for new. I’m actually more into the repair and maintenance of the car in top shape. Which is why I like older and stay away from brand new. Currently I am tearing down the front suspension of my 67 Park Lane for a complete rebuild and shoot photos as I go along.
Then another project relates to me screen name. The full version would be TBM-3E. Now put that name together with my third project and some should guess what it refers to.
My third project has been one where I have put 20 years and over 12,000 hours into. I do note there is a ship category here and this is a big ship. Maybe too big of a ship to make a short summary of. That ship is the USS Hornet a WWII Essex Class carrier that turned the tide in the Pacific. There are three others but ours is the most complete and functional. Yet where would one start a story on such a large historical subject?
Another subject would be the USS Iowa. I know it is in San Pedro but I was able to roam the ship in 2010 while in the Reserve Fleet. My photos were taken of areas on the ship that will never be open to visitors ever. There were only two places I couldn’t access. A turret which has limited access and shaft alley as I didn’t have the time.
Yet where would one start a story on such a large historical subject?
There’s no good answer. But we’d be interested in everything from a peek at one little area to a full tour. And anything in between. Don’t let its size be a hurdle.
Well I guess one could break the ship down into sections such as deck by deck starting with her history. I personally find these ships mesmerizing which is why I went to work on the Hornet. Saw her one day off in the distance during a rainy May day in Alameda. I had to drive over and get out in the rain to admire her. Next week I walked on and said I could help her.
Working there has enabled me to also go parts hunting on a wide variety of ships in the Suisun Reserve Fleet. There were 80 when I started and now it is down to 5 newer ships. There were a variety of replenishment ships, some Coast Guard, some Victory, two WWII troop ships, two WWII sub tenders, a later sub tender that hauled Polaris missiles (really interesting) and a Vietnam era Amphibious Troop ship that carried Marines to Vietnam to name a few. Then there was the Forrestal Class carrier, USS Ranger, up in Bremerton.
If I may make the suggestion – start with some small but interesting aspects. These will be helpful in settling your mind down before tackling what appears will be a significantly larger task. After writing these initial pieces, it will help enormously with planning for a larger combined set of articles. When I wrote my first pieces, I had no idea that I would develop a taste for my long-form stuff.
For example, writing up a selection of interesting items seen during your parts hunting – though unrelated to TBM-3E – is a great start. Treat it like some of our contributors do wrecking yard articles – a random succession of pics with descriptions/points of interest.
I visited the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in 1969 when our ship was in overhaul at Hunter Point. At that time there were a lot of WWII ships there. I wish I had had more time and an interest in history that I have now. I am sure that many of those ships had fabulous histories. We were there to remove equipage from a Fletcher Class destroyer that was being taken out of the fleet for scrapping. Sort of eerie going aboard but hugely interesting.
I think you could write a great article about poking around an old ship like that.
I remember seeing the Suisun Reserve Fleet a couple of times when I was stationed at Travis AFB in the mid-seventies. There seemed to be quite a few different ships, of many types, anchored there then. I can only suppose that over the years the possibility of actually using the ships for their intended purpose(s) became more and more slim and the ships were sold off for scrap. My hat is off to any group willing to undertake the time and expense of restoring and keeping up anything as complex as an aircraft carrier.
I will echo Jim – writing isn’t that hard to do if it’s a topic you are passionate about. Besides, if it were that difficult I would not have 450+ posts here.
Writing here is what you want to make it. I would recommend starting easy and work your way up; many contributors here had pretty straight forward first pieces. The dive into hard core research can come later.
In the big scheme of things many people tend to put too much pressure on themselves and can convince themselves they can’t write or it takes some obscene amount of time. Such could not be further from the truth.
If you’ve ever thought about it take the dive!!!
I’ve wanted to for a long time. Guess I’ll read the guidelines
“Demonstrating and canvassing a necessity in life”? Does that mean what I think it means?
Also, glad we no longer live in an era where a newspaper classified ad can explicitly call for a white employee.
As for becoming a CC contributor, I’ll echo my fellow contributors and say WordPress is pretty seamless and it helps to write about something you’re passionate about.
When I do get a chance to writeup an article, I learn a lot from the research I choose to do, which is really fun. I learned a ton about Alfas from working up yesterday’s post for example.
I wonder if some are put off by the fact that we have already covered so many years, makes and models at CC. I say don’t let that stand in your way. If there’s something at the curb that catches your interest, go for it regardless. Your take will be fresh and different from whatever has come before.
The motto here is “Every Car Has A Story”; I’d add that every car’s story is different. Please share your CCs, I know I’ll appreciate it.
Allow me to join in encouragement, because if I can manage to write articles for CC, anyone with half a brain and some knowledge about cars can. Not to mention Paul being amazing at teaching proofreading (even if I did never quite figure semicolons. Sorry PN.) and the proper way to get ideas across.
So please do write something car-related that interests you (or think it can interest the good folk around here) and send it along. worst that can happen is you may need to do some edits.
Your articles are always great!
Work is not quite as bad now, so I’ll probably have some things in the queue soon. Not saying they’ll be, you know, good or anything.
I’ve often tried to do it, but I will be the first to admit, I’m not only lazy but also very hard of separating myself from a subject as passionate as this. I’ve wanted to write about certain models and other stuff, but I’m not very objective in my writing, even though I do quite a bit of research on the subject at hand. Plus, I often don’t make a point to take pictures of cars unless its something interesting, and my crappy iPhone camera isn’t the pinnacle of artistry. Maybe I’ll have the courage one day, but I just have little faith in myself I can produce a good article.
Don’t worry too much about objectivity; as a for instance, I have yet to be objective in writing about any full-sized Mercury. Your concern about level of objectivity isn’t a huge hurdle by any stretch! 🙂
Yes, Jason is pretty much our “Opinion” editor… 🙂
Portugal is full of 1990’s vintage cars, mine included. I might give it a go.
Can you share any link to popular used car site with American cars available in Portugal?
American cars are not really common here, only some private imports, limos, etc,
but a lot of Euro 1990’s iron is still daily driven here, and would maybe result in some CC entries
Many contributors here have learned to write well just through contributing. Like most things, it just takes persistence. If you even think you might want to try, then try!
I am a relatively new contributor but I have enjoyed it so far. I would encourage anyone who is thinking about doing it to try. I have found it to be a rather therapeutic an satisfying hobby. I only wish I had more time to contribute more often.
FWIW to Paul and the other senior editors, I do have a few articles I plan on writing soon, but summer time is very difficult for me. Heck I have hardly commented in the past couple months. I have the majority of my vacation time now and much of it is without internet access. But I will get a few articles published soon…
Like some others here, I once had no idea that I had the ability to contribute anything worthwhile to a site like CC. I discovered two things: that I could indeed write an article and put pictures in it and that this would become one of my favorite leisure activities.
I agree with the advice to start with what you know. And the more you write the better you will get at it.
+1 it’s not that hard. Being in salt belt Canada I see few genuine CC’s so tend to write about family stories or other nonsense that I experience in life.
There’s another one coming tomorrow!
Additionally, I don’t think Robert Brophy is going to write any CC articles so it wouldn’t hurt my feelings any if CC went to three articles a day instead of six. Not like the FCC is going to revoke our license or anything…
You don’t have to have an extensive library, know how to wrench, or write something approximating a term paper. Yes, grammar and spelling are important, but always remember this site is for both information and entertainment – meaning that posts don’t always have to be super in-depth.
Writing for CC has been (and remains) hugely rewarding. I mean, look at this great community. I put off contributing for months back in 2015 (?) before I took the plunge at the friendly recommendation from Paul, based probably on comments that accommodated my shots on Flickr I had posted to the Cohort.
One more recommendation: authenticity is key. Worry less abiut who you think your audience is and more about saying what you want to say about a car, and even if only ten comments pop up later (and don’t trip about that, either), you can stand by something you can be proud of having written.
I’m a little embarrassed to say that I have only contributed once. It is not difficult at all.
The CC’s Road Trip series on Hawaii pushed a button with me. Last year I went to Sicily and have a small collection of CC’s taken while others on the tour where photographing old churches. A draft has been in work since November. I have to finish it.
Those are the easiest posts to write (I mean that in a good way). I’ve done a few of walks around neighborhoods in Southern France and Reykjavik as well as Boise and just random cars of interest (to somebody, mainly me) in London etc (It drives my wife nuts that I won’t take pix of a 1000-year old church on vacation but some rusty beater gets me all excited). Paul is always doing different (or the same areas?) of Eugene. My personal rule is generally anything over 20-25yrs old is fair game and good subject matter along with a smattering of special interest or rare or seldom seen newer stuff. But for those you just post a bunch of pictures, figure out the spacing and then add verbiage between the pics. I mean look at that one of the car transporter at Costco a few weeks ago…Totally fun and only five or so cars.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/qotd-you-get-to-have-to-pick-one-which-one/
These are longer walk-around ones but no reason they couldn’t be much shorter and focus on one street or block instead. Too long almost gets overwhelming actually…
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/the-curbside-classics-of-antibes-juan-les-pins-france/
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/iceland-classics-the-winter-beaters-of-reykjavik-iceland/
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/road-trip/cc-roadtrip-outtake-what-do-your-not-so-irish-eyes-see/
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/walk-and-talk/cc-walk-a-stroll-around-boises-north-end/
This one’s based on a couple of shots taken of a display board in a Tourist Information building…
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/road-trip/cc-roadtrip-outtake-what-do-your-not-so-irish-eyes-see/
Really, NONE of these involved much research besides me maybe trying to pin down the year or model of vehicle, otherwise just word vomit into my keyboard…. If I really can’t figure it out, it becomes a question for the reader to answer. But the key is I enjoyed doing it. Some like this kind of stuff, some like deep research, some like planes, some buses, whatever tickles your fancy or pix that you already have laying around.
By all means, contribute! It’s one of the most rewarding things you’ll do, and there’s an entire community here ready to offer guidance. I look forward to reading our new authors.
I’ve had one article here — back in 2012, I think — and I keep meaning to get another entry. I live in a small town that features plenty of possible CC entries.
I also see some great CC candidates on the road; problem is, I never have my phone handy for snapping quick shots, or I’m on the run and can’t stop to take a couple of quick pictures. I’m also a full-time freelance journalist (until this fall, when I start a teaching gig), so taking time to write something else, sometimes is a bit much for my routine.
(Insert additional rationalization here).
But this is an invaluable site; Paul has done an outstanding job and he was extremely easy to work with on the single post I submitted. I’ll try to be a more regular contributor.
Hey, if I can write a CC on the King Midget, anybody can. You’re not a reader here if you’re not passionate about cars!
I’m a sometime contributor and longtime reader. Early this summer, I traded up my lovable but balky VW Eurovan for a unique Honda Element. I took the E from CA to Boise a couple of weeks ago, and now I’m headed up into Niedermeyer country this week. I don’t think CC has ever featured an Element, and they’re defunct, quirky, and highly configurable – perfect for the likes of CC! I’ll hopefully put together a COAL after my roadtrip ends in mid August.
Oooh, I for one look forward to it. I really, really wanted an Element in 2007. But that back seat that was only configured for two passengers killed it as a possibility at my house. I scratched my head as I thought about how the Honda Fit would seat 5 while the Element only seated 4.
Ill echo others – it took me a while to build up to writing something but once i’d done my first CC, it got easier.
Jim’s correct that carshow et al reports are relativley easy, as less research is needed, but also there is less opportunity for your valid arguments on the merits/demerits of the car to be aired as well. Once you get past the first night nerves, writing about what you are interested in (either old cars, the USS Iowa or a train) will come more easily.
And don’t forget the Cohort as a source of examples
I’ve started writing some things down on certain cars I’ve found over time (A-Class, Corsa B) but find the high level on this site daunting (that’s a compliment) therefore sent in only one years ago.
However, in a month from now I’ll be back home and job hunting, so will have more time on my hands, as well as a giant pile of pictures. Are the contributions proofread before publishin cf anyone willing to provide some feedback?
Yes and yes. If you get it to Paul I’ll be happy to work with you.
I read and check everything to be posted except by the experienced authors.
Thanks both of you! I’ll get back to you, looking forward.
I have an article ready, I’ve never submitted it because I tried three times to get through the signup process and it gives me a fail. I’m not sure why that would be. I would be just fine with someone else posting it, I’ll email it to them.
Send it directly to Paul at curbsideclassic@gmail.com. Just the text file with no images for now. He’ll ping it over to me, then I’ll get in touch with you and we can deal with the pics then.
Here’s the fix for your problem:
Trouble getting an initial Log In after registering for the first time at CC? Unfortunately, it’s a common problem, and here’s the fix; Try to Log In, but pretend you forgot your password, and ask for a new password to be sent to you via email. Use that to Log In, and if that works fine (it always does) you can always change your password to your preferred one.