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Post by L on Oct 7, 2002 18:48:55 GMT -5
1. Always include your Username!
2. Spell and Grammar Check
3. Read through and check for continuity/content.
I think those are the three most important things after one is done writing, before sending the submission in.
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Post by epk on Oct 7, 2002 19:16:55 GMT -5
May I add a suggestion to #2? Word Count Check.
I see too many times people confused when their 500 word article doesn't get in. As Josh F. says: Shoot for 1,000+ more for articles, 1,500+ for short stories and series parts. Forget comics, I don't do them.
Word Count is one of those things too often forgotten. You can do this is Microsoft Word, so if you write your stories there, this would be a good thing to check.
(Off the subject, there is a maximum word count of some sort for short stories - they sometimes will be divided into series if too lengthy.)
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Post by sara on Oct 7, 2002 22:20:00 GMT -5
*grins* Heh heh, in my word processor, the spellcheck and wordcount feature are in one package. If I want to do one, I have to put up with the other. So I'm pretty careful to record the word count right after the final spell check, so I don't have to go through the process again.
And on spellcheck, try to see if there is any way to edit the dictionary. I somehow doubt that an unedited spellchecker will aceept the word "Aisha" or "Borovan", and I quicky grow tired of pressing the "Ignore word" button for that kind of thing. However, be careful that when you enter a Neopian word you got i right - I just found out the other week that I had entered "Tuskanniny" wrong into my personal dictionary.
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Post by lindy on Oct 8, 2002 16:01:12 GMT -5
Mind if I add a tip too? ;D Write the article/story, edit it, then leave it aside for 2 days or so before coming back to it. It's very good for picking up missing words. Or try reading it aloud to yourself (just avoid the stares from your siblings/parents/friends as you talk about "Dr. Sloth" and "Neopoints" to the monitor screen). If you find yourself to be very good at picking up mistakes and such, there are some very good job opportunities relating to the line of work. And the pay is supposed to be good too. Btw, Sara, are you perhaps the same person as ladee_sarah? If so, I really like your articles - they are always very timely  |
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Post by sara on Oct 8, 2002 22:22:17 GMT -5
No, I am not ladee_sarah, note that my name lacks an 'h' I am the person who (assuming you are Lindy_Guo) who told you that Drain Life takes 11% of your opponent's hit points, instead of 1/11 (9%). I really aught to pui my banner on my signature - might as well do that now  |
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Post by 310bigsis104 on Oct 10, 2002 12:52:59 GMT -5
Thank you everyone who posted tips. I need them badly. Also, remember to not try to fool the staff by using a huge font! |
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Post by Leb on Oct 20, 2002 10:53:06 GMT -5
Alas, I'm stuck with Wordpad--no word count, no spell-check. I've used Word at my school computers before, and it's wicked cool. What I do in Wordpad is eye-ball my work; if something's really short, I add to it, if something's really long, I shorten it. I usually have a good sense of spelling, so that helps.
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Post by niexie on Nov 25, 2002 9:08:29 GMT -5
the bad thing about my work is that i have no second opinion. i like people (but not EVERYONE) to give me opinions. because as my close friends would know, i'm terribly poetic and awesoome at imagery, but due to awful freshman english teachers *mutters* i have awful grammar. sometimes i need help on "making things flow" too...
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Post by calvinseviltwin on Nov 25, 2002 14:12:30 GMT -5
Sometimes I post stuff on fanfiction.net, preferablt the 'Calvin and Hobbes' area for my 'Dark night' stories.
When you post stories there on the bottom it will tell you *exactly* how many words are in the story.
Sometimes you don't need a lot of words though. I think there was a story in the times a while ago that was like 500 words, but it was really sad and relaly good ('I never said forever' I think it was)
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Post by Tdyans on Nov 25, 2002 17:38:43 GMT -5
Sometimes you don't need a lot of words though. I think there was a story in the times a while ago that was like 500 words, but it was really sad and relaly good ('I never said forever' I think it was) "I Never Promised You Forever" by shidi. Yes, I didn't do a word count or anything, but it was shorter than your average NT story, and yet it was perfect. It didn't need to be any longer. Which just goes to show you that more important than the word count is how well you use the words you do. It's good to aim for that minimum of 1500 words, or whatever it is, but don't just pad your stories with words for the sake of reaching it-- just write the story. |
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Post by calvinseviltwin on Nov 25, 2002 17:41:24 GMT -5
Exactly my points. More words would have ruined the sotry compeltely
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Post by Lappi on Nov 30, 2002 9:13:21 GMT -5
Thanks for all the tips, guys (and girls)! I've never thought of using the word count, I just thought of looking at all the pages I wrote (I usually write 5...). I suppose that would be okay too, but I'm using word count! Thanks again (I'm a newbie NT writer, don't mind me)!
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Post by azzie on Nov 30, 2002 12:00:29 GMT -5
i think 1 good idea is to print the article out and read it, i think one can miss some mistakes when the article is actually on the computer.
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Post by Tdyans at home on Nov 30, 2002 18:53:10 GMT -5
i think 1 good idea is to print the article out and read it, i think one can miss some mistakes when the article is actually on the computer. True, it does make a difference in your proofreading to look at a hard copy rather than a computer screen-- if you can afford to use the paper... which, poor college student that I am, I can't... |
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Post by Leb on Nov 30, 2002 22:04:59 GMT -5
...or the ink, that's expensive too. I never print out my stuff because I don't want my parents reading it. *remembers the "Ick, is that Pokey-man stuff?" comment after a roadtrip to Limited Too*
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