Approved Writing a Really Super Good Article in The Player

Status
Not open for further replies.

xzern

for sure
is a Tiering Contributoris a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
hi
    • Introduction
  • so, you want to write an article rather than just reading them?
  • do you want to be able to contribute to the player because you just love all of us so much?
  • this guide does exactly what the title suggests: how to write a really super good article in the player.
    • What to Write About
  • if you want to write a good article, you should have a set, specific point that you want to convey
  • what do you want to write about? do you want to tell us about your favorite room? do you want to teach a new user how to get acquainted with a certain community? maybe you even want to discuss the prominent memes of showdown.
  • keep in mind that your article needs to have something to do with PS. for example, if you decide to write about how zangoose is really good in doubles, you would probably be better off writing that article in The Smog.
  • when conjuring up some ideas, just think about what you do on PS on a regular basis. do you regular one of the tier rooms and want to write about how the tier rooms function as a whole?
  • if you cant think of anything from that, you might want to browse the player's article idea thread.
    • Submitting Your Idea
  • once you have a set directive of what you want to write, head over to the article submissions under the player's subforum. you won't see any threads there, but don't panic. the bleegleflorps haven't taken over the world and annihilated the internet. not yet, at least.
  • think about a title. you can always change your title later in the writing process, but it's more convenient to have a title ready as you submit your idea.
  • it's very important that your title is interesting and grabs the reader's attention. if you want to write about the doubles room, don't do something boring like "Introducing the Doubles Room." that's just boring and unoriginal. do something interesting like "The Doubles Room: Double the Babes."
  • if you want the best chance of having the staff accept your idea, you should create a brief bulleted list of your article. this will show the mods that you know what you're doing and that you know exactly what you're going to write about.
    • Writing the Article
  • congratulations, your article on the life and history of George "Ca$h Daddy" Showdown, creator of PS, was just approved!
  • after your idea gets approved by a few of the staff, you should get access to the private subforum of The Player, The Kiln.
  • if you are really new to writing articles and you are nervous about how your work might turn out, it might be a good idea to ask someone to co-author the article with you.
  • now, how will you write the best possible article you can? well, there are a few things that most basic articles should have:
      • Introduction
  • the intro is pretty self-explanatory.
  • you want to have a really interesting introduction. if the reader finds the intro boring, they might not bother to read the rest of your article.
      • The Body
  • this part of the article should be the meatiest and juiciest (mmm) part of the article, as the title "The Body" suggests.
  • if you have a good sense of humor, then by all means, use it! satire is a really good means of keeping a reader's attention and some articles are nothing but satire. (see: perilous pundit and the gossiper)
      • Conclusion
  • here's where you wrap up your main ideas and points.
  • conclusions usually aren't too long, so do not fret if your conclusion is short. remember: it's not the size that matters, it's how you use it!
    • Quality Control Process
  • If you're looking at The Kiln, you're probably wondering what all those silly prefixes mean.
  • WIP: the stage that ur in while you're writing the article
  • In Review: after you're sure that your article looks spiffy and dandy, change to this tag. be patient; you'll be waiting for a staff member to review your article and check for quality.
  • Grammar: after the staff member giving the review gives you the all-clear, your article needs to be checked by at least two GP members. change the tag in your article to this and add "[GP 0/2]" to the end of the title.
  • HTML: once you get GP 2/2, switch to this tag. it informs the HTMLers of the player that your article is ready to get HTML.
  • Images: you can get illustrations at any point in the process, but if you haven't gotten one already, switch to this tag after HTML. the player's artists will reserve your article and create some illustrations to make it look pretty.
  • Done: after all that fun stuff has happened, switch to this tag. however, the journey is not over. you still need to wait patiently for another moderator to give you editor's notes, which are some quick last minute fixes. some time after it is known that you implemented the editor's notes, another staff member will add the number of the issue that your article is being published in.
    • Get Out There!
  • if you have any questions, the moderators of the players are always friendly enough (except spydreigon, that guy sucks) to help you out
  • dont be afraid to ask questions to experienced writers, either. you can even ask one of them to co-author with you!
 
Hm, we've had this idea suggested to us before but it's been denied because we would rather one of the Player staff to do it. However at this point, you're experienced enough with The Player that I would trust you to write it, since it would be a nice guide to refer to and you've got quite a nice amount of detail here.

However...
(except spydreigon, that guy sucks)
This idea is denied, have a nice day.

(In all seriousness, I'm cool with this)
 
We'll be keeping a close eye on the production of this article, but I agree with Spy; you've written enough articles that it wouldn't hurt to give this a shot.

antemortem?
 

antemortem

THE ORIGINAL DAVE
is a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnus
Socialization Head
I feel like the quality control part of this article would be pointless, mainly because there's a guide in the Kiln for that and we guide new people along anyway. So write about the actual writing process (basically everything but the last bit) and this should be fine. If you want, you can supplement this with a couple of quotes from fellow writers. something of an inspiration to future writers, maybe even a helpful tip (depending on who you get the quote from) - one-liners preferred for the sake of being concise.

approved
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top