Sunday, February 17th, 2008
Issue: 61   Editor: Nyxxinator


Your Ticket to the Buzz Forum! Nyxxinator
As many are aware, I am always on the continuous lookout of possible writers for the Bootleggers’ Buzz. We take the time out to sit down and assess each sent in article for writers interested as well as read any posts made on the forums to see if anyone’s rant may look appetizing. Sometimes, even though you may not send in an email with an article attached, you may be approached due to something we saw in the forums.

However, although I take out the time to post in the Game Forum exactly what we are looking for, people tend to always forget or skip by important facts that may result in an acceptance or denial of your example article.

So if you are attempting to hop on the train to become an official Buzz writer, please remember to follow some of the steps, including and not limited to the following. Good luck!

Grammar
Your grammar, writing or speech judged with regard to such a set of rules, is extremely important when creating an article. If you do not understand the rules of writing, then an article subject could be exciting and informative, but the composition of it may not make it seem that way. This is one thing that Microsoft Word doesn’t distinguish as right and wrong and it is your job to skim over your article multiple times to find your own grammatical mistakes. The best way to do this is to read your article out loud. Although you may sound like a loser to those around you, you won’t seem like such a loser when you get accepted as a Buzz Writer, we all know how cool we are! Read out loud slowly. If something sounds wrong, it obviously is.

Punctuation
Your punctuation, the use of standard marks and signs in writing to separate words into sentences, clauses, and phrases in order to clarify meaning, is just as important as grammar. Microsoft Word cannot really catch this, much like grammar, as correct or wrong. It is important that you use punctuation where it is meant to be. If you don’t, you could be confusing your readers with the absence of one single mark. Read the rules of commas, periods, and all the rest of the punctuation marks to learn when they should and shouldn’t be used!

Spelling
Your spelling, the way in which a word is spelled, is the most important. In the Buzz we do not use “1337” speak. We tend to be a bit serious when writing our articles and properly so. We spend sometimes hours on our articles (yes, we still have lives. Buzz writers are given 36 hours in a day instead of 24) and it is important that it shows with our spelling. Unlike both punctuation and grammar, this is probably the only part where Microsoft Word will lend a helping hand. However, keep in mind Microsoft Word will not tell the difference between “their” and “there,” and that is your job to tell the difference!

Capitalization
We see this a lot and isn’t at all that uncommon. Many people like to place capitalization where capitalization shouldn’t be. Keep in mind capitalization should only be placed at the end of the sentence after a period to indicate the starting of a new sentence. That is it, nowhere else. Microsoft Word will usually correct this for you automatically, only if your first letter of a new sentence was placed as lowercase. However, if any other letter is placed as uppercase, it is ignored. Remember that “I” is always capital if alone.

Construction
The construction and overall appearance of the article should be neat and orderly. Each paragraph should have a sub theme to go along with the main theme of the article. For instance, in this article, I already spoke about grammar. I wouldn’t bring up grammar in another paragraph way later. Try to remain organized. A great way to make sure of this is to start out with an outline if you have a problem with this.

Article Choice
Your article choice should remain interesting with facts to back it up. We aren’t looking for your opinions. Everyone has an opinion, but what differentiate between your article and someone’s opinion are the facts to back it all up! Try using a topic that is current within the past week or so. You wouldn’t discuss the reset now, being as it happened more than a year ago!

I hope all of you become more interested with becoming a writer as we are ALWAYS looking for help. Sometimes, it isn’t the actual article idea that makes us turn down a possible writer but the above, usually infinitesimal, problems.

Good luck!