Blog

Will Brinkman

Last time, I wrote about pinning down what you want to write. For today’s feature, we’ll discuss the actual process of writing.

Using an Outline

First, you want to start with an outline. Your high school teacher likely once forced you to use an outline for a research paper and you may have even completed the assignment. You probably never used one again. This may seem like extra work, but it helps you organize your thoughts and it’s a decent skillcheck for “is there enough information available to make writing this piece worthwhile?”  Let’s say you want to write a deck feature. It would look something like this:

Hunter Rush is returning to Core
I - Introductory or lead paragraph
II – History of Hunter Rush
1 – Previous major event wins
2 – Why Hunter rush faded away
III – Why Hunter rush is coming back
1 – New cards
1a – Avatar of the Wild
2 – Fortuitous metagame shift
2a – Hunter-hating deck is no longer popular
2b – Format favors speed
IV – Which deck you should play
1 – Alliance Versions
1a – Super great Alliance version
2 – Horde Versions
2a - Not-so-great Horde version
3 – Substitute cards for expensive chase rares
3a – Can’t find Avatar of the Wild? How about Fury from Class Starter Deck?
V – Wrap up

After you’ve completed your outline and you feel confident that this is going to be a great feature, can get to work.

Alternate: Video and Audio Products

Maybe you’ve established a viewer/listener base that enjoys the way in which you present content as opposed to the content itself. Maybe you believe you can grow your base with pure cult of personality. You’re probably wrong, but it could be true. If you don’t believe those to be true, you should plot out your podcast or YouTube show the same way, but also scheduling time for each segment. Do you find it odd that two talking heads on a program typically have opposing points of view and relevant counters to opposing opinions? If so, that’s cute. And now I’m going to shatter your world that all these shows are planned out. And there is no Santa Claus. Plot out your show. And give people an opening overview as to what to expect for the show.

The Writing Process

Now that you have an outline, go to town. Write your heart out. And then go back to your outline. Did you actually follow it? Did the article deviate from your original plan? Did you bury the lead? Did you miss any important points? Did you brainstorm any new points during the writing process that you should add to your outline? If you’ve ever read a piece that opened with one premise and ended with another, that person did not use an outline or did not actually read his own work.

And unlike all those last-minute papers in high school or college, you’ll want to review your work. You’re not sure about the spelling of a card? Look it up. You don’t think you’re using the right verb? Use a dictionary. Find yourself using the same three adjectives (EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC EPIC) throughout the paper? Use a thesaurus. Is it a dry read? Try to lighten the language. Is it a wall of text? Break it up into paragraphs. And referring back to the first blog entry on this subject, take a different perspective on a second read-through. Assume the role of your reader. Is he or she going to comprehend what you’ve written? Do you need to explain any terms? Is that person raising any questions after reading it that you need to address?

Cut

Now you can cut everything that’s not necessary. With the myriad of stimuli available to someone on a computer or portable media device, you’re competing for that person’s attention. Sometimes a piece is so engrossing that the reader will gobble up every word of your 4,000 word tournament report. There are certainly writers in the community who are able to spin a tale. The average feature or deck dissection doesn’t really fall into that category. If you’re not holding your reader’s attention, he or she will probably just go onto the next thing that’s begging for some eyes or ears.

Again, you need to assume the role of someone who isn’t emotionally or financially invested in consuming your content. Is there a point while reading or listening where you’d just simply cut out and change the channel, so to speak? No, really, I bet there’s an entire paragraph that needs to be reworked at best—cut entirely at worst. Now is the time to fine tune your piece. Trim that fat.

Alternate: Video and Audio

You can do more than one recording. You can even use music or visuals to break up segments, recording individual parts so you don’t have to completely start over should there be a flub. You wouldn’t typically do this with an interview, but you would with your general back-and-forth segments. The key here is to keep things flowing and use your time wisely. Cutting the fat is even more important here as it’s harder to skim an audio or video piece. The longer something is, the less likely they are to listen to it. Emphasizing that your content is competing with hundreds of other stimuli at any given moment, you want to keep things tight and don’t give them a chance to tune you out.

Review

At this point, you’re pretty close to publishing your piece. You’ll want to review closely this time; read once for content, then again for grammar and spelling. If you’re not properly hyphenating, it’s unlikely that anybody is going to freak out. Just make sure there are no spelling mistakes and that you have complete sentences and break up your points with paragraphs.

Now you’re ready to submit your piece. Next time, we’ll talk about different ways of publishing work, cobbling together assets to make your article more than just a wall of text, titles, drawing in readers, and wrap-up. Good luck and feel free to ask any questions in the comments section

Extra-Bonus Time

While the affiliate program is behind schedule—mostly due to getting specific language so that people know how they’ll be supported and what they can do with that support, the FTP should be up within a week's time with 3D product shots and card images—please contact me if you’re a website that has been consistently uploading content for the past few months. If selected, you’ll receive an exclusive Twilight of the Dragons preview card to feature on your site. I have a list of sites we've worked with in the past, as well as new ones, but I'd like to get a heads-up if more exist. Comment in this blog with a short introduction of who you are, a link to your site, and contact email if one isn't on your website. Thanks!