For most iGeekOut.Net writers, the titles are going to be ones that they are able to pick out themselves, after all, writers and contributors will be providing content based off of what they are passionate about. However, for those who are interested in writing about more than what they enjoy (for example they are interested in learning about other fandoms), the titles of an article have already been determined prior to writing. (In other words, most iGeekOut.Net writers receive their titles directly from iGeekOut.Net without needing to create them on their own.)

If you need to create a title for an article, you should pay particular attention to how that title is put together. In particular, titles should:

• be concise. Fewer words is better than more.
• begin with a gerund. The majority of titles should begin with an action word; a gerund. This helps pull the reader into the title.
• be compelling. Great titles invite the reader into the article; they make the person want to stop and read more.
• be active. Don’t use passive voice in a title. (You shouldn’t use it in your writing, either.) Active voice is more compelling and concise than passive voice.
• include exact search phrases. If a title contains a phrase that people search for, there is greater chance that people will find the article. Exact means that if people search for “Fallout 4 Walkthrough,” that is the phrase that should be included in the title, as in “Using the Fallout 4 Walkthrough.” The title “Understanding the Walkthrough for Fallout 4” contains the right words, but not the exact phrase—as it should.
• never include special characters. Don’t include special characters such as em dashes, quote marks, or superscripted characters in the title. These don’t serve much purpose and they detract from the overall value that might be gained from the title. Unless it is required as in a movie, video game, or some other type of title.
• not duplicate other titles. Duplicate titles within a site are not permitted. Duplicate titles across sites are permissible, but should only be used for a good reason.

Follow these guidelines and you’ll create great titles every time.

In general, when either writing or editing, follow the Chicago Manual of Style.

First person singular is just fine, but not mandatory. You should not use first person plural. You are writing for a general audience, not a specialized audience. Tone should be casual with the material written to an 8th or 9th grade reading level.

Contractions are fine, but should not be overused. Try to avoid colloquialisms or that may limit the ability of the reader to identify with the content of the article.

Whenever possible, use active voice in preference to passive voice. (See, also, the Wikipedia article on voice.)

Beware of anything that might be construed as sexist in nature and avoid such wording. For instance, if you are writing an article regarding some anime characters you will probably want to avoid discussing the more…physical aspects seen with some of the characters. This can come across as crude, insensitive, and frankly more than a little chauvinistic to many (both female and male). Avoid even the implications of such as much as possible.

Write articles in American English, not UK English or some other variation of English.

Try, whenever possible, to give good, solid advice relative to the subject of the articles. Articles, whenever possible, should use a “how to” approach to the topic. If a “how to” approach will not fit within the current tip because of tip length, feel free to develop additional tips that support the article you wrote. For example, if you find yourself referring to a tutorial or how-to article on a different Web site, then such a tutorial or how-to article is a candidate for an additional tip article to support the tip you are currently writing. (If this is unclear, ask for clarification.)

If the article is a “how to” article (and most of the articles should be of this type), the idea is that when someone reads the article they should have all the information they need in order to accomplish whatever task is being described. They should be able to print out the article and use it as a guide for accomplishing the task, completely.

Target word count is 400 words per article. It is permissible to go over or under this target, but in no case should the word count be below 350. If 20% or more of your articles fall below the target word count, they will be returned to you for reworking. (The safest course is to assume that 400 words is the minimum word count and that your articles should be at that word count or longer.)

Feel free to do research using resources available on the Internet. You should never “copy and paste” things from the Internet into a tip. It is an absolute no-no to plagiarize someone else’s writing. (I will be doing periodic checks on this.) All writing needs to be original, in your own words.

If necessary, you can refer to products by name in the tip. When you are doing a review of some sort, you definitely will need to include the name of the product. Just make sure that you are using

Format regular paragraphs within the tip using the Body text style.

When creating content for a review for any movie, game, book, anime, show, etc., there five basic elements that you need to keep in mind as you being to put your thoughts together. By no means should you think that these are the only things that you should include in your review, they are things that you NEED to include in your reviews.

• Fun

  Whether it is a video game, movie, book, television show, or anime, the main purpose that most people have for spending their time or money on these items is to have fun. So…how fun was it? Did you enjoy yourself overall, or was it just a little too tedious for you to finish?

• Story

  Story is perhaps one of the most vital things for you to consider when putting your review together. Does the story capture your attention and demand that you finish the “quest” with the hero? Perhaps the story was overly complex, and you became confused, lost, and frustrated as time went by. Be honest in your opinion, but remember to keep things “professional” in tone.

• Flow

  Initially, flow may seem to be part of the whole story aspect, but it is actually something a little different. Flow can perhaps be properly defined as how the different parts of the story interact with one another. For example, does each gaming session, chapter, episode, or act of the movie actually relate well to one another. One of the best ways to tell whether there is a strong positive flow is if it is difficult for you to tell whether there are any distinct “parts” to whatever it is you are reviewing.

• Characters

  Part of any good story, game, movie, etc., is the characters that the “story” is about. Who are the characters? What makes them tick? Is there any kind of development to the characters over time, or do they stay the same throughout the entire story? Explain a little about what they are like, whether you like them, and why.

• Revisit Value

  Is this something that you would like to visit again, or is what you are reviewing simply a one shot wonder? The best stories, games, movies, etc., are something that you will like to revisit time and again like an old friend.

• Rating

  Use this rating scale when providing your feedback:

  • Everyone – This is something that will appeal to everyone out there
  • Buff – This is somethign that will appeal particualrly to those who are fans of the genre in general
  • Fan – This is something that will appeal to the general fan of the series
  • Diehard – This is something that will only appeal to the “true” fan of the given series
  • Nobody – This is actually something that should be avoided, and not worth anyone’s time or money.

  Be sure that you also provide a detailed, explanation as to your rating, remembering to be as professional as possible in your reasoning. This may seem difficult when you are talking about something that you may not like, but it is possible. A simple rule of thumb is to be as literal as possible, instead of flowering. For example: “I was afraid this would break, or shatter, if I dropped it,” rather than “I was afraid that it would explode in my hand.”

Keep in mind that these are only a few of the things that you can include on your review. That being said, even if you think something is complete and utter dreck, you will want to be as measured as possible when you say it. Even though this is an opinion piece, you want to avoid using language that is specifically inflammatory or derogatory in nature.

Format regular paragraphs within the tip using the Body text style.

There is an old adage that states that the best way to organize any short article is by dividing it into sections. The first section serves as an introduction, the second as the body, and the third as a wrap-up. A closely related adage states that you should “tell the reader what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them.”

The bottom line is that your article needs to be organized. Normally this organization includes three parts that we will call the beginning, middle, and ending. To be complete your article must include all three parts.

The purpose of organization is to help (1) set the reader’s expectation and (2) fulfill those expectations. When it comes non-fiction expository writing, a typical reader reads in order to find an answer to a question; this is their expectation. That question could be pressing or it could be purely inquisitory, but the reader expects to have some question answered by what he or she has chosen to read.

It is, therefore, the writer’s responsibility to determine, beforehand, what questions the reader may ask (including the overarching question which applies to the article as a whole) and then answer those questions as completely and succinctly as possible. An article should always have one overarching question that serves as the premise for the existence of the article. It may also contain tangential questions that arise from a proper consideration of the overarching question. The overarching question must be reflected in the title of the article (although not necessarily in question form) in an inviting, enticing manner.

Beginning

In order to set the reader’s expectations, it is important to explicitly guide them as to what to expect, and this is done in the beginning of the article. This introduction should use as few sentences as possible. For instance, the following is a good introduction to a short article entitled Setting the Stage for Epic Gaming:

Many people dream of enjoying the companionship of good friends, and close companions in their tabletop gaming sessions. Such sessions don’t require a lot of convoluted preparations, spending a lot of money, or even traveling to some out of the way location to set up. In all my years of gaming, I have been able to develop some easy, and fun, methods for creating epic gaming sessions. The absolutely amazing thing is that you probably already have everything you need, and just don’t know it.

The question implied in the title is “how do I create truly fantastic gaming sessions?” This is the overarching question that the reader is looking to answer. Note that the author, in the beginning, recognizing (and giving voice to) additional questions that the reader may have, such as the cost or obtaining extraneous materials. In just a few words the author managed the reader’s expectations relative to those questions, and by the end of the article’s beginning, the reader can very easily tell if the article is worth reading in full.

Note, as well, that the beginning of the article also draws the reader into the main body of the article. The best introductions are short, engaging, and complete (meaning that the possible tangential questions the reader may have are dealt with succinctly).

Middle

The middle portion (or body) of the article, which comprises the bulk of the article, needs to contain the answers to all those questions you haven’t dispensed with in the article’s beginning. This is where you provide answers in an engaging way in the right amount of depth so that the reader feels their reading is worthwhile. Spend the most time in the article’s middle section and invite the reader (with your prose) to do the same.

Ending

The article ending is just as short as the beginning. It is where you tell the reader “what you told them.” It reminds them of what they discovered in the answers you provided and it leads them, if appropriate, to places they can learn more.

Without an ending the article feels incomplete. The reader may feel that a sense of “closure” is missing and surmise that you don’t really care about whatever the topic is and that you just wanted the article to be done and over with.

A word of advice for if you are looking to submit a walkthrough for a game, you do not need to really worry about doing an ending as described here. In most cases, simply describing the end of the game or the scene will often suffice for this. That being said, if you do decide to write a “summary” for the walk through that it follow the same general rules that are outlined here. Also keep in mind that each section, or quest, that is listed in the walkthrough will be treated as a separate article/submission.

In the previous section you learned the importance of article organization and how the reader always comes to your article searching for answers to questions. If the question or questions that a reader may have are not answered within your article, then the reader’s expectations are not fulfilled and he or she may rightfully determine that what was just read is devoid of any value to their purpose. (Again, their purpose is to have a question answered.)

In writing, “fluff” is one of any number of words that describe a condition that exists when words occupy space without conveying valuable meaning. Another way of saying this is that if the words in the article don’t convey the value the reader is expecting, then they become fluff, effectively filler and background noise, little more than wasted time in the reader’s day.

Signals that fluff may exist include redundancy, dead-ends, unnecessary tangents, non-starters, using too many words to convey a thought, and (occasionally) non-sequiturs. There is no absolute checklist for fluff, but a few commentators have attempted such a list. (See, for example, Fight the Fluff! by Robert Warren, a professional technical copywriter.)

It is relatively easy to recognize fluff in other people’s writing. (More in a moment on recognizing fluff in your own writing.) It is a matter of reading the article and finding the question that is asked in the article or should be asked in the article. The answer must be succinct (as few words as possible), complete (leaving no unanswered tangential questions), organized (laid out in an orderly manner), and smooth (progressing through the organization without cognitive leaps).

Closely related to “fluff” are words and terms such as “lack of substance,” “inconsequential,” “meaningless,” or “lacking.” These phrases, however, are slightly different than “fluff” because they indicate a condition in which an article is judged incomplete in some manner. Writing can, therefore, “lack substance” yet still not burden the reader with fluff. A writer may create an article that is incomplete (and therefore lacks substance) yet, in an effort to achieve some desired word count, add verbiage that does not rectify the lack of substance and, instead, adds fluff. The article becomes longer, yet less informative to the reader than one might expect from the increased length.

Recognizing fluff in your own writing is more problematic because it requires you to put on “different hats” relative to your prose. It is sometimes difficult to look at your own writing with someone else’s eyes, putting yourself fully in the role of a fresh reader. Yet, this is the very skill that is required for successfully ferreting out fluff.

Because readers bring different expectations and skill sets to bear on any writing, it can be invaluable for a writer to have a trusted editor (such as those at IGeekOut.Net) who can critically evaluate their writing before the reading public has a chance to do so. The editor can more easily identify fluff than the writer can (for reasons already described) and tell the writer which portions of their prose need work.

Each article should start either with a title provided to you, or with one that has been approved by your contact at iGeekOut.Net. The title should be in its own paragraph and formatted with the Heading 2 style.

If necessary, additional headings can be used within the article. If you choose to do this, these headings should be formatted with the Heading 3 style.

You should write a “hook” for each article. This summary is not part of the submission, nor is it included in the article’s word count. The summary should be placed at the beginning of the article and be easily identifiable. The hook should be roughly 120 to 130 characters long. Format hooks paragraphs using the Summary style provided in the VN Word template.

When possible, every article should include at least three separate resource links. These resource links are not part of the tip, nor are they included in the tip’s word count. These links should be to high quality content on the Web related to the topic of the article. Each of the three resources should contain the following, in the order indicated:

1. The name of the resource. This is typically the name or title of the article you are using as a resource. Do not use the name of the website as the name of the resource.
2. A short description. This consists of a two- or three-sentence description of the resource. It should be evident, from reading your description, why you are recommending this resource to the reader.
3. The full URL. The full URL for the resource you are recommending. Do not put any punctuation or wording around the URL; it should be the full URL (including the http:// portion) without anything else.

Resources may be published along with your article. If a reader of your article clicks on a resource link, they should not start reading and think “Wow. I’m reading the same thing that I just read at iGeekOut.Net.” If this happens, you need a different resource link. The links are not to research material you used to write your tip. These links should provide authoritative additional information on the topic at hand, not the same material reworded.

Resources should be as focused and unique as possible. For instance, if you are writing an article about how to run a specific type of role-playing game, one of the resources should not be to another role-playing game site; that is too generic. Instead, it should be to a specific article on that other site. The more specific you can be, the better, as it reduces the chances of duplication in the resources posted on iGeekOut.Net.

To format the resource links, on a new paragraph type the words “Resource Links”. Format the paragraph using the Body text style, and then format it as bold. Each of the three resource links should then be in their own paragraph, constructed as noted above. Format each paragraph using the Body text style, then select the first element (the name of the resource) and format it as bold.

Feel free to use bulleted lists and numbered lists, as appropriate. They break up the text and provide a “check list” of things that people should do. Just remember that you should only use numbered lists if the items in the list must be done in order. If this is not the case, then the list should be a bulleted list.

Numbered lists are a natural when using a “how to” approach in an article. They allow you to tell the reader how to accomplish a task.

Do not allow Microsoft Word to format lists for you automatically, and do not use the list tools on the Word Formatting toolbar. If, when creating a numbered or bulleted list, Word tries to format the list for you automatically, you need to turn off this capability. This article explains how to turn off automatic bulleted lists, and this article explains how to turn off automatic numbered lists. (Both of these articles are good examples of using a “how to” approach to a topic, and both use numbered lists to specify the steps that should be performed.)

Bulleted lists, when implemented correctly, should use two styles from the VN Word template. All items in the list, with the exception of the final item, should be formatted using the Bulleted List style. The final item in the list should be formatted using the Bulleted List (Last) style.

If creating a numbered list, each item in the list should be its own paragraph and should start with a digit (1, 2, 3, etc.) followed by a period and a tab. When you do this, Word may try to apply “automatic formatting” to the paragraph. Please reject this helpfulness right away by pressing Ctrl+Z to undo the formatting. Then, turn off automatic formatting of numbered lists using the information earlier in this section.

Items in a numbered list should be formatted using the Numbered List style, with the exception of the final list item. It should be formatted using the Numbered List (Last) style.

When putting together in-line lists, make sure there is a comma or semi-colon (as appropriate) before the conjunction preceding the last item in the list.

Writing and editing is to be done using Microsoft Word. Either PC or Mac versions of the program are just fine. You should not do your writing in a different program (such as WordPerfect or Open Office) and try to save your file in a Word format. Some people have tried this, often with unsatisfactory results.

There is no need to put the tips in individual files; you can (and should) have multiple tips per file. It is expected that all the tips making up a batch will be in a single Word document.

When writing/editing, you should use the Microsoft Word template provided for creating tips. (You can download the template by right-clicking on this link and saving the file to your hard drive. The download is in a compressed ZIP format; you will need to uncompress it to get to the actual template file.)

The iGeekOut.Net template should be attached to your Word document file so the styles it contains are available throughout the document. Styles are referred to throughout this style guide; each reference to a style name is underlined.

Some people have opened the VN Word.dot template and expressed surprise that it is “empty” (there is no text in it). This is by design; a template is a special type of Word document that contains nothing but styles (again, the styles referenced throughout this style guide) that you use to format the text you write. (To understand more about what a template is, refer to this article.) To use the template, you follow these general steps:

1. Create your document; the one in which you will do your writing.
2. Attach the template to your document. (You can find information on how to attach a template to your document by reading this article.) Once the template is attached to your document, the styles contained within the template are available for your use.
3. Use those styles to format your text. Again, the names of the styles are referenced throughout this style guide; style names (the ones you should use) are always underlined. For help with how you apply styles, see this article.

You must understand that formatting your articles using the VN Word.dot template file, using the styles outlined in this style guide, is imperative. If you do not format your articles correctly, your submissions will be rejected. If you need help understanding what styles are and how to apply them within a document, refer to this article.

As you are done with groups of tips, e-mail them to your contact at iGeekOut.Net. Unless otherwise instructed, submissions should contain as close to 20 – 25 articles, or submissions, as possible. Send an e-mail explaining what you’ve completed, and then attach the Word document containing the submission.

If you are providing submissions that are associated with a particular purchase order, please submit an invoice to your contact at iGeekOut.Net. This is important; without the invoice, you cannot get paid. Payment will generally be made, by check, within one week of submitting the invoice. Please make sure that the invoice contains a complete description of what it is for. The best way to make sure that this is the case is to reference your purchase order number on the invoice.

Invoices should be made out to:

Vital News, Inc.
PO Box 1585
Orem, UT 84059

You can either e-mail the invoice to your iGeekOut.Net contact as a PDF file, or send it via US Mail.

If you have any questions about this document, please contact Lee Wyatt at Lee at VitalNews.com, or call me at (385) 207-3617.

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